Ogun begins third phase of broiler project

Ogun State Government has commenced the third phase of the Broiler Project, aimed at empowering youths to be gainfully employed in poultry business.

The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Adeola Odedina, while speaking at Eweje Farm Institute, Odeda, noted that the Broiler Project, which was a pilot project had recorded huge success in the first and second cycles, hence the commencement of the third phase.

He noted that the Broiler Project was an idea of the state government, where 54 young farmers had been empowered with 1,000 day-old broilers each, having raised them for six weeks, after which the off-takers purchased the chickens.

Odedina, while appreciating the State Governor, Dapo Abiodun for creating job opportunities for youths through the Poultry Value-Chain, commended the participants for taking advantage of the training, saying they had successfully exhibited strong will to succeed, having made an average of N150,000 profit in each cycle.

The Commissioner disclosed that Governor Abiodun had approved the replication of the Broiler Project in each of the 20 Local Government Areas of the State, assuring the beneficiaries of government’s support by establishing them as commercial poultry farmers after the launch of the third cycle of the Project.

“We are here to launch the third cycle of Ogun Broiler Project, you will recall, we were here to launch the first and second cycles where each participant within the space of six weeks, made an average profit of about N150,000 raising 1,000 birds. We were also here to monitor the second cycle which incidentallyhappened during the pandemic, thank God, we were able to manage it,” he said.

The Chairman, Transition Committee, Odeda Local Government, Bola Lawal, lauded the state government for the initiative and successes recorded so far, promising more supports to the programme as he pleaded that more indigenes be absorbed in future.

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mr. Femi Oguntayo from Abeokuta South Local Government, said being trained as a poultry farmer had been a wonderful opportunity as they have been exposed to the act of raising broilers from day old to six weeks old.