With its massive and growing population, Nigeria has a large protein demand amongst its people and chicken is one of the favorite foods for most Nigerians. To meet the high demand for protein in Nigeria, many producers and retailers will have put considerations such as ethical farming and welfare to the backburner in order to focus on the primary requirement of fulfilling the local market demand.
That means there is more intensive commercial farming with high stocking densities, heavy use of antibiotics to reduce mortality, small spaces, feeding based on GMO foods and many other commercial profit-driven farming practices geared at fulfilling the Nigerian market demand. And most ordinary Nigerians generally cannot make the distinction. In the developed world, this kind of farming is called factory farming and it is coming and increasing criticism for its lack of consideration for animal welfare and focus on profits.
There is also the fear that if commercial farmers go unchecked, they will put profits before people and focus on maximizing production through techniques that might be harmful to ordinary consumers such as heavy use of antibiotics and the use of growth harmony.
Yet decency and quality should not be sacrificed at the altar of profits even for a country like Nigeria. For Nigeria’s middle class that can easily afford chicken products, the focus is slowly shifting is to whether you are purchasing chicken, but what kind of chicken is being purchased from the supermarket shelves? What is the quality? How was it raised? Does the farm adhere to quality and ethical practices.
It is not yet finding expression in the direct consumer choices but there is that dialogue going on that poultry products need to be raised to the highest ethical and quality standards in order to give consumers healthier choices. There are organizations such as the Nigerian Organic Agriculture Network, an umbrella organization for stakeholders that are involved in organic agriculture that is steering this advocacy.
With time, enlightened Nigeria consumers will begin voting with their pockets and retailers will listen to them and begin offering them healthier organic and free range food choices that allows them to eat and enjoy chicken with a clean conscience and certainty that the produce has been raised in a clean and natural environment where there is no indiscriminate use of chemicals or unethical standards.
Nigerians must be bold enough to begin charting a new ethical and healthy path through free range and organic poultry production and with time, the market will follow the lead.
Check out information on Free Range Poultry Farming Practices in Nigeria.