Here at Devex Dish, we talk a lot about what grain shortages’ impact on global food security means for people, but this week’s top story digs into what it also means for animals. Devex contributor Pelumi Salako takes us inside Nigeria’s maize shortage, and how it is affecting the country’s poultry industry. Maize is the main ingredient in chicken feed, and prices have soared from 200,000 Nigerian naira ($268.64) per metric ton to more than 500,000 naira ($671.59).
There are a host of reasons for the scarcity: insecurity in the north where most of Nigeria’s maize is planted, poor yield, lack of mechanization, inability to import from Ukraine due to the Russian invasion of the country, and heavy flooding. Small poultry producers make up about 80% of Nigerian poultry owners, and they have a limited ability to weather the country’s economic crisis.
“Maize has become too expensive and it is a crisis if you don’t feed your birds today because they will respond tomorrow,” Salam Habib, a 40-year-old poultry farmer from Ede, western Nigeria, tells Pelumi.
About the author
Teresa Welshtmawelsh
Teresa Welsh is a Senior Reporter at Devex. She has reported from more than 10 countries and is currently based in Washington, D.C. Her coverage focuses on Latin America; U.S. foreign assistance policy; fragile states; food systems and nutrition; and refugees and migration. Prior to joining Devex, Teresa worked at McClatchy's Washington Bureau and covered foreign affairs for U.S. News and World Report. She was a reporter in Colombia, where she previously lived teaching English. Teresa earned bachelor of arts degrees in journalism and Latin American studies from the University of Wisconsin.
