How hotels closure affects multibillion naira livestock investments

The closured of hotels due to COVID-19 is affecting investors in the livestock subsector. The supply of chickens, eggs, beef and mutton to hotels, event centres, markets and other busy food outlets across the states have been severely impacted.

Mr Rotimi Oloye, who has extensive investment in catfish production and serves as the National President, Catfish and Allied Fish Framers Association of Nigeria (CAFFAN), said farmers are losing massively because major markets, and hospitality industry are down, adding that the ban on such activities dealt a heavy blow on fish products.

Similarly, Comrade Tahir Mohammed, who has investments in beef processing in Lagos and Port Harcourt, said he lost millions of naira during the lockdown because major consumers were out of business.

Speaking with journalists on the matter, Mr Taofeek Badmus, the General Manager of Tuns Farms, a major poultry production hub in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, lamented that absence of off-takers and hike in the cost of feed are making things hard.

Mr Badmus was concerned said closure of hotels, event centres and other festivities affected sales “with many of us having large stocks of finished products.”

On his part, the Managing

Director, Agrecourse Ltd, Mr Ayoola Oluga, an agricultural crowd-funding firm worried that with the COVID-19, some farmers were finding it difficult to sell their products, especially fish farmers.

Also, Mr Ayo Arikawe, Chief Technology Officer, Thrive Agric, another crowd-funding, noted that with the shutdown of the hospitality industry, many processors who off-take from smallholder farmers are off business.