Addressing a media parley in Abuja, Mr Akpa said over 14 million people are directly or indirectly engaged in the commercial poultry sector alone, while the rural family poultry with cumulative valued of N320 billion, are managed by 85 million people, according to Daily Independent.

He added that the nation’s poultry sector contributes over 25 per cent of the Agricultural Domestic Products of the Nigerian economy.

The country, he continued, is currently rated number one egg producing nation in Africa, and the fourth in broiler meat production, besides South Africa and some countries of North Africa.

Nigeria, he stressed further, produced 553,000metric tonnes of eggs and 708,000metric tonnes of broiler meat in 2011, lamenting however that many poultry producers operate below installed capacities and at a loss due to high cost of basic raw materials to produce poultry feeds.

Despite all these, Mr Akpa decried a situation where Nigeria remains a dumping ground for smuggled frozen poultry products, warning that consumption of these products portends great danger to the health of the Nigerian citizens.

On some of the challenges militating against the growth of the sector, the PAN boss identified high interest rate charged by commercial banks, high electricity tariff, poor infrastructure, and multiple taxes by the relevant authorities as some of the challenges.

He therefore called on government to introduce school feeding programme in primary schools across the country where “an egg a day” would be given to each pupil as a component of the Universal Basic Education.

He also seeks the establishment of National Poultry Development Fund that would assist poultry farmers to expand the businesses, in tandem with modern poultry technology and husbandry.