POULTRY REVIVAL SCHEME:
Egbewole seeks grants, instead of loans, to varsities
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, has urged the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide grants instead of loans to the nation’s universities to enhance the Tertiary Institutions Poultry Revival Scheme (TIPRES).
Prof. Egbewole made this appeal last Tuesday (March 12, 2024) in his office while fielding questions from newsmen.
The Vice Chancellor highlighted the University’s proactive approach towards the growth and development of the poultry industry in Nigeria’s tertiary education system through its Ggmax Poultry Farm initiative.
Prof. Egbewole explained that the grants will better equip the University in providing comprehensive training to staff members and practical experience to the students and ultimately contribute to the overall revival of poultry farming in the country.
The Vice Chancellor assured the government that the University would continue to uphold its culture of responsibility and non-abandonment of projects.
Speaking further on the University’s poultry project, Prof. Egbewole expressed the University’s determination to ensure the success of the TIPRES scheme.
He explained that the University is the only institution of higher learning that accessed a N600,000,000 loan repayable over a period of five years.
He added that the University has been religiously observing the quarterly payments of between N37,000,000 and N40,000,000, which is usually deducted directly from the source.
Prof. Egbewole pointed out that the cumulative interest and capital will be totalling over a billion Naira at the end of the loan period.
The renowned Senior Advocate of Nigeria said that the University of Ilorin is like a Guinea pig to the scheme and the poultry, saying that poultry business is facing the challenges of the rising price of poultry feeds, which has eroded a lot of the capital.
On his part, the Chief Operating Officer of UNILORIN Ggmax Poultry Farm, Mr Gawati Adedayo, recalled that the farm was established in 2022 with 15,000 layer birds and 30,000 broiler with the vision to sell six tonnes every week of broiler meat and at present the layer pen has about 30,000 birds producing between 800 and 850 crates of eggs per day with each pen accommodating 5,000 birds.
Mr Gawati added that the challenges faced in the past five months have led to the folding up of about 50% of poultry farms in the country.
He, however, assured that the Ggmax is working towards ensuring the success of the project as he assured that the farm would soon start earning the University revenue
Commenting on the significance of the farm project, Mr Gawati explained that the farm has been generating employment , particularly for the people of the host community, saying no fewer than 100 individuals are engaged in various activities in the farm since its establishment.
He added that the positive economic impacts of the farm are also being felt by more than 5000 other individuals.
Mr Gawati said that Ggmax is profit driven and presently worth over a billion naira, adding that the products are sold across the country due to the quality and neatness of the birds.
He applauded the University management for having the courage to embark on the project and making a success of it.