President Muhammadu Buhari Friday approved the release of 5,000 metric tonnes of maize from the National Strategic Grains Reserve to support the Poultry Association of Nigeria at a subsidised rate of N90,000 per metric ton as against the current market price of N170,000.
The intervention is aimed towards providing succour to the poultry industry, which accounts for about 27 per cent of the agricultural Gross Domestic Product of the economy and provides about 20 million direct and indirect employments. In a statement by the Director of Information, FMARD, Theodore Ogaziechi, Nanono however assured the farmers of the readiness of the ministry to immediately comply with the presidential directive in order to salvage the huge investment of about N10 trillion in the industry.
He said: “The president because of the scarcity of maize, has graciously approved the release of 5.000MT to PAN for distribution to its members across the nation.