Poultry Farming: Over 20,000 Tonnes Of Maize Required

The Competitiveness Committee met with stakeholders in Yaounde to gather proposals for the effective relaunch of the sector.

The Permanent Secretary of the Cameroon Poultry Interprofession, IPAVIC, Lucas Nga, has told the Competitiveness Committee of the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development that 20,000 tonnes of maize, two million chicks and 4.5 million FCFA worth veterinary medicine (disinfectants, vaccines and vitamins) are required to restructure poultry farming in Cameroon following the recent outbreak of the Avian Influenza that crumbled the sector.

Stakeholders from the Ministry of the Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries, the Competitiveness Committee and IPAVIC met in Yaounde on August 31, 2016, to examine the chances of restructuring the sector to meet high demand from end-of-year festivities. Figures from the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development indicate that the poultry sector represents 10 per cent Gross Domestic Product. Chicken production in 2015 was estimated at 46 million up from 8 million in 2008 when the first Avian Flu outbreak hit the country while the production of eggs rose to 1.5 billion in the same year as against 700,000 in 2015.

Figures that are telling of the important role the sector plays on the growth of the cou...