Amo Farm Sieberer Hatchery Limited has commended Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun state on his approach in alleviating poverty and improving the living standards of rural women in the state through the noiler bird empowerment programme.
Speaking during the second phase of noiler bird activation and distribution in Ogun State, Ayoola Oduntan, group managing director, Amo Farm Sieberer Hatchery Limited, said the programme which witnessed the distribution of 35,000 noiler birds to 3,000 rural women across the three senatorial districts of the state, shows the unrelenting commitment of the state government to development of agriculture.
Oduntan who expressed his company’s commitment to rural empowerment and the success story in Ogun state said the programme was an expansion on the first phase where 1,000 rural women benefitted from 10,000 noiler birds in partnership with British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN).
Noiler can significantly reduce childhood stunting, infant mortality, maternal mortality as it tackles poverty and malnutrition, he said.
“The Noiler Bird is a dual purpose bird that grows quickly and bigger than the native birds, lay more than the native birds but most importantly, it would survive in rural backyard environment with fewer resources,” Oduntan said.
“It can lay four times the number of eggs the local birds lay and can grow two and half times bigger. Poultry feed constitutes 70 per cent of farmers’ expenses in running a poultry business in the country but with the noiler initiative, farmers spend less on feed as noiler birds can feed and survive on household remnants.”
The group managing director stated that the testimonies of previous beneficiaries who are mostly small holder farmers attested to the fact that noiler bird, a dual purpose breed, is suitable for backyard rearing.
He noted that the noiler project’s objectives among others are to increase rural women’s income, improve households’ nutrition and increase their productivity. This ultimately reduces poverty among rural dwellers by improving quality of life through meat and egg production.
It has taken 15years of work and investment to develop noiler bird. Its uniqueness as a Nigerian product resulted in it being named NOILER to celebrate Nigeria, Oduntan said.
He noted that the Noiler birds are easy and cheap to rear because of their ability to feed on remnants from the kitchen and farms and have been successful in diverse backgrounds from Maiduguri to Yenagoa.
According to him, the noiler breed is resistant to common diseases like the local birds and the beef is tasty and tough and can be reared with no antibiotics and chemicals, adding that they can be raised as ‘organic chickens.
He stated that if the noiler initiative is replicated across the country, it will help to achieve some of the key targets of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Josephine Okojie
