Oyo PAN Seeks Makinde’s Intervention over N5 Tax 

Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Oyo State chapter, has called on Governor Seyi Makinde, to save the association and poultry farmers from impending peril.

The association in a statement by its Chairman, Elder Oyekunle Omidokun, and tagged, “Save Our Soul (SOS),” followed the directive issued by the state Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development that stipulates a mandatory payment of N5 per chicken slaughtered and processed in privately owned chicken processing plants across the state.

The statement read in part, “We appreciate the effort of His Excellency, Governor Seyi Makinde in ensuring that farmlands in Oyo State are secured and his continuous effort in ensuring food security in the state and Nigeria as a whole, while aligning with the mandate of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu, who has designed policies that will create and sustain food security by creation of agricultural hubs to increase food production and engage in value-added processing and other best modern practices that will minimize perennial conflicts, with the overall goal of ensuring that food is abundant and less costly. We also appreciate the free distribution of maize and ongoing soft loan to poultry farmers by the

Executive Governor.

“We poultry farmers are still faced with enormous challenges of scarcity and unavailability of raw materials. Where cost of doing business has tripled in the last one year and forcing many of our poultry farmers to abandon the business and the country for greener pastures, we find it very discouraging to hear that this burden of tax is about to be introduced by the Oyo State Government.”

The association further explained that the quantum effect of the impending policy implies that poultry farmers in the state would be at a disadvantaged position in the poultry market space where other chicken processors operating in other states are not burdened with such tax.

“We only want to rear, slaughter and process our birds without added pressure. We are in the food processing space and should not be treated differently from other food producers and processors by charging fees of N5:00k for every unit of raw materials used. Live birds are our raw materials used in chicken processing plants, “Pan said.