Poultry farmers in Nyamira county have said that the high cost of feed is forcing its members out of jobs.
The Association of Poultry Farmers said that the rising cost of consumables was dwindling their profit and making many farmers to quit the business.
A section of poultry specialists and veterinarians attribute the rise to the slow production of eggs.
A rapid surge in the cost of chicken feed is forcing poultry farmers to scale down their stock, resulting in an increase in egg prices driven by scarcity.
A spot check on the prices of eggs on Monday revealed that a crate of eggs goes for between Sh360 and 420, with sellers attributing the rise of prices to the high cost of feed.
The association's secretary Josephine Kengere said that they had noticed a decline in its membership as a result of the high cost in recent times as they are operating at a loss.
“These farmers could not bear the high cost of feed and so they crashed out of their businesses,” she said.
She said that the association had formed several platforms to talk with farmers to encourage them to wait patiently for government intervention.
Kengere added that the association had encouraged farmers to downsize to work within their capacity to break even for now.
She said the high cost of input is a major setback for poultry farmers and urged the government to allow some stakeholders to import maize and soya beans to reduce pressure on local products that are inadequate.
The association also established that some poultry farmers who had left the business said they could not bear the cost of feed since they had experienced losses for long.
Kennedy Ondieki, a farmer, said he had to quit poultry farming to look for something else to do as the cost of feeding his birds became a huge problem.
“There is no need to stick to business that is only bringing losses. At least I can engage in other productive businesses because there is nobody who is willing to come out and hear our cry as farmers,” Ondieki said.
Another farmer, John Ochanda, said that he had to sell off his entire poultry farm to look for an alternative business.
The poultry farmers, however, urged the government to encourage and support local production of maize and soya, which are major ingredients for feed production.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
