Mojeed Iyiola, the Chairman, Poultry Association of Nigeria of Lagos State Chapter, has said the state government’s maize palliative to members of the association made a positive impact on the sector.

Iyiola said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Lagos.

“We received about 150,000 tons of maize in February from the Lagos State government as palliative to cushion the effect of high feed prices.

“The major benefit of the palliative is that it cushioned the cost of production for most poultry farmers in the state.

“The palliative was beneficial as it made the cost of some poultry produce, especially eggs to drop,” Iyiola said.

He noted that before the palliative, a crate of eggs was sold between N3,500 and N3,700 at the farm gate, but after the palliative, it now sells for between N3,200 and N3,400.

As claimed by the PAN chairman, retailers and middlemen who sell for between N3,800 and N4,200 do so for their own gains.

“We have urged our members to sell their eggs at reasonable prices following the receipt of the palliative from the government.

“We appreciate the Lagos State government for the palliative but we also urge the Federal Government to do likewise, to further reduce the cost of production in the sector,” Iyiola said.

He said this development was to reduce the effects of economic hardship on Lagosians, the state government has recently commenced the “Ounje Eko” food markets with sales of food items at discounted prices in the five divisions of the state.

The food markets operate exclusively on Sundays from 11 am to 4 pm across several locations in the state.