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As part of effort to boost and encourage investment in poultry farming, especially at the rural area, Ogun state government has distributed 10,000 Noiler chicks to 1,000 rural women in the three senatorial districts of the state.
The 10,000 chicks distributed to the rural women were developed under a tripartite agreement by Natnudo Foods, subsidiary of Amo Farm Sieberer Hatchery Limited, British American Tobacco of Nigeria and Ogun state government to empower the rural women and serve as a channel for which specially bred chicks -Noiler, will fight malnutrition and smuggling of poultry products into the country, effectively.
Speaking at the distribution of the birds to the beneficiaries recently held at Oke-Mosan in Abeokuta, Yetunde Onanuga, Deputy Governor of Ogun state, declared that the birds were distributed to women at the grassroots level to fight poverty and malnutrition at the rural area as the birds offer required nutrients that nourish the body, adding that the distribution of the birds also empowered women away from poverty.
Onanuga noted that there was deliberate attempt on government’s part to deploy the birds to rural area where the birds will rapidly grow and offer small scale profits that stimulate the economy at the lower level which would form a part of virile economic base that later affects poultry production, processing and distribution in a frantic move to fight smuggling of unhealthy frozen products to the country.
Meanwhile, Ayoola Oduntan, managing director of Amo Farm Sieberer Hatchery, the suppliers of the birds, said that the bird is an hybrid of broiler and layer, and was developed to offer malnutrition and fight smuggling of livestock as well as to honour Nigeria as a country since the bird which were named Noiler, deriving letter N from Nigeria.
“We realised that smuggled chickens are bad for health of Nigerians, that was why we developed Noiler to honour Nigeria and change the narrative. The birds will serve two purposes of providing protein and creating entrepreneurs in the country to significantly combat malnutrition and poverty.
“It is envisaged that the availability of the birds in the women’s backyards would enhance ability to feed their children with eggs and chicken or sell poultry products in their village markets to support their families”, he said.
RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta
