The Poultry business contributes immensely to Hospitality businesses through Food production operations.This is one more reason why this industry growth will ever be desired by the hospitality sector. But then, we desire it to GROW first! Here is a piece SHARED, READ & RE-BROADCAST!

Most importantly  Do contact me if you want to invest in a poultry smallholder farmer's business out there, to start building the change we all desire, and to help create jobs and wealth!

If we dream big, and take risks, change is bound to follow ( RICHARD BRANDSON).

We need to do things RIGHT- but differently!

Diversification! Diversification! We hear it, say it, we want it! We all want this to happen but an enabling environment , business support ,supportive  governance, people-leaders, the right and qualified persons in key positions, etc,etc,etc are all required. If true diversification is to occur to get us out of the ‘change maze’ we all seem to be experiencing now, we can’t have a conversation of this nature below or similarly occurring in a country that is proposing agriculture, promoting it and asking the youth, and anyone who desires to invest or start any agricultural business, making agriculture THEIR CHOICE to happen overtime. We will need to do things differently, and facilitate the growth of this sector much more to avoid this being the case.

If we are to make agriculture one more means among others, to create jobs and  wealth, besides build our country, and build this industry back again, and its immerse potential , perhaps not so obvious for all to see. But unknown to some, it can serve as one more means of diversification we require within and outside our hugely Blessed, RICH and GREEN country, included  it is an industry that can provide Food security for the whole of Africa as a whole untapped.

Will diversification happen in our own country without support, if just one smallholder poultry farmer out there, out of many already, and possible potential ones in the pipelines are unable to get for instance, a simple overdraft, to buy and rear birds?
When this my particular case is unable to get support from any financial house to feed just 20,000 birds? What must be happening to farmers with huge numbers of birds- ‘a community of birds’?  ‘Football pitch size space filled with birds’?  Or Olympic size poultry farm ? Or farmers who may want to set up huge automated farms? Can they exist? Will they survive?

Here are pieces from  my story  from the ‘heartburn’ of one poultry farmer STILL out there today struggling- and hanging on, to be shared!

SHARE IT and re-broadcast it we need to do things differently, to grow this industry and effect a change in and out of this industry. The running of a poultry farm is HANDWORK but with HUGE potentials and prospects for our country as a holistic whole! It is another additional justification to do things differently to make it work for us and smallholder Farmers.

MY STORY- This is a Poultry owner with Birds of 20,000 capacity trying to get an overdraft from a bank for 60 days that he will like to keep requesting for later for each rearing period. With a potential that is CERTAIN that in a week’s time after breeding had taken place ,and selling his birds about to occur, such that earnings will be worth not less than 14 million or more! But, ironically as of hearing this story he was also struggling along with this overdraft ‘crisis’ to find anyone who could loan out  N150,000  as well to buy diesel, engine oil, wood shaving for an immediate day cost!

DAY 1

Poultry owner visiting a bank: Good day sir, can you help me facilitate an overdraft which can be used to buy birds of 20,000 capacity and feed them with 10 million, for ........days, which can be paid directly to the seller of the birds and feed by the bank. I will equally sign a letter of authority. I need this overdraft just for 60 days. By them i will have sold them and then got 14...... Million, which will enable me, pay back. In addition, I may be applying for this kind of overdraft for each rearing period please, Sir.

Bank representative 1: I would give it a push for you. It is the bad experience on our portfolio. We have lost over N4B on poultry alone.

Two weeks later

Poultry Owner: Any update Sir. I am just checking. I passed by your office earlier. You were not on seat ,any update Sir, its 2 working weeks today since I sent my application for the overdraft. I am honestly painfully running out of time Sir. I just need an overdraft facility of 1.5m to serve as i explained for a running cost for an 18million......

Bank representative 1: We are on course. Your application is with our credit unit and review is currently ongoing. I have worked on the accounts and have met the agric unit and briefed them. Let’s hope for the best.

After another 2 weeks and no hope in sight still this owner tries another staff in the bank to help.

Poultry owner: Good day sir, can you help me facilitate an overdraft which can be used to buy birds of 20,000 capacity and feed them with 10 million, which can be paid directly to the seller of the birds and feed by your  bank. I will equally sign a letter of authority. I need this overdraft just for 60 days. By them i will have sold them got 14....... Million and so be able to pay back. In addition, i may be applying for this kind of overdraft for each rearing period, please.
I can guarantee you that in as much as running a poultry is hard work and not easy. I can guarantee that there will be no losses from my end. I will sign that all payments goes to your bank designated account. Please help me Sir. I can pledge my farm and another property i have worth 30 million if needs be.

With our performance past and present so far, which you can verify from XXYZ farms our mortality is about 1% of the total birds we have reared so far. So almost no losses, so we have guarantee on our birds with the facility and personnel I have put in place at our poultry site.
I never knew Agric loan was this cumbersome, Sir.

Bank representative 2: No problem, God will help us. We like to help hardworking farmers. We are passionate about helping them. God willing, I will try my best.

Yet another week!

Poultry owner: Good morning Sir, Please, kindly help me Sir on my overdraft issue..... This is another working week Sir. I still have not got any feedback..................................................................!

Painful you may agree. Here is an enterprise providing employment, producing Food to contribute to Food Security and business ventures, ‘crying in pain’ for support to ‘churn out’  Food and Poultry products, struggling silently?
Thus, if we are to achieve diversification through Poultry smallholders farmers – create wealth, generate revenue and better lives. There will be a need to obviously do things differently to provide the support required now, immensely.
This is one story out of many untold out there. If you want to support a poultry smallholder farmer out there, or invest to create an obviously needed support contact me. There needs to be effective channels of support-  government or banks or individuals  that are created or can be created to do things differently, take risks to provide what it takes to achieve the TRUE diversification we wish to see, by supporting  hardworking smallholder farmers NOW among, which WOMEN are included!