The Ogun State Government has strengthened its food security agenda with the completion of a 5,000-birds-per-day poultry processing facility at the Ajegunle Farm Settlement in Odeda Local Government Area, under the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP).

With the new facility, the state now has the capacity to process an additional 1.3 million birds annually, a significant boost as Nigeria still relies on imports for an estimated 70 per cent of its poultry consumption.

The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Hon. Bolu Owotomo, disclosed this during an inspection tour of Ajegunle Farm Settlement, Eweje Farm Institute and Odo Fufu communities in Odeda and Yewa South Local Government Areas.

According to Owotomo, Ajegunle Farm Settlement, designated as a poultry production hub, currently hosts about 400 resident farmers. The settlement is equipped with modern support infrastructure, including blast freezers, cold rooms, waste processing facilities, a warehouse with fitted offices and poultry pens with a combined capacity of 20,000 birds. He added that a private investor has also completed a 13,000-capacity poultry pen at the site.

“With this facility, Ogun State can now process an additional 1.3 million birds yearly, reducing importation and strengthening local poultry production,” the commissioner said.

Owotomo further revealed that the state has completed 28 agricultural projects in the last two years through OGSTEP, with support from the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), Ogun State CARES (OG-CARES) and the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ). The initiatives, he noted, are aimed at boosting agricultural productivity, improving livelihoods and reducing Nigeria’s annual post-harvest losses, estimated at ₦3.5 trillion.

Highlighting consumption gaps, the commissioner noted that Nigeria’s per capita chicken consumption stands at between 1.7kg and 2kg, compared to 13kg in Ghana, 36kg in South Africa and 46kg in Brazil.

At the Eweje Farm Institute, he said the state has constructed 10 poultry pens with a capacity of 10,000 birds each, alongside five four-bedroom residential buildings. Meanwhile, the cassava processing facility at Odo Fufu in Ilaro is expected to boost value addition and increase farmers’ incomes.

“We are encouraging farmers to take ownership of these facilities, backed by strong monitoring mechanisms and Public-Private Partnerships, to ensure sustainability,” Owotomo added.