Nigerian feed millers blamed for making bad feeds

The President of the institute, Prof. Placid Njoku, said that some feed millers even advised suppliers of feed ingredients to reduce the quality of ingredients in order to reduce cost.

 

Njoku said that more than 450,000 tonnes of fish feed of questionable quality were imported into Nigeria annually.

 

The president said that feed ingredients were also stored under poor conditions leading to invasion by fungi.

 

“Feed millers and toll millers produce feeds without consideration for their nutrient balance,’’ he said.

 

Njoku said the nation’s feed industry had experienced remarkable growth in the last five years at an average rate of 20% annually to more than two million tonnes per annum.

 

He declared that the NIAS would ensure that Nigeria would no longer be made a dumping ground for imported poor quality feed ingredients.

 

In his remarks, Prof. Sheikh Abdullahi, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, directed the institute to collaborate with the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to enhance the standard of the nation’s livestock industry.

 

Abdullahi also urged the NIAS to partner with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in the regulation of livestock feed ingredients, premixes and finished feeds used in animal food production.

 

“Basically, safe feed is required to make safe food; therefore, the feeds given to animals must be safe as human beings are the final consumers of the food eaten by animals,” he said.