Lagos consumes 20 million eggs daily

Lagos Commissioner for Agriculture, Honourable Oluwatoyin Suarau said the state consumes 20 million eggs daily, one of the largest in the country.

He made the disclosure during a one day sensitisation workshop in Lagos on Thursday on Agro-Processing, Agricultural Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) Project, a Federal Government/World Bank agricultural initiative aimed at improving agricultural productivity of small and medium scale (SMEs) commercial farmers.

Lagos, Kano, Cross River, Kogi and Enugu states have benefitted from the $200 million appeals project of the World Bank Agro intervention.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Olayiwole Onasanya, the Commissioner said poultry meat consumption in the state is also on the rise, adding the state intends to double production within the next six years of APPEALS Project in Lagos.

Suarau said Lagos is overhauling production of poultry, to enable farmers raising hens for eggs shift from backyards to commercial farms and modern standardised processes.

According to him, the project is s to enhance agricultural productivity of small and medium scale farmers and improve value addition along priority value chains that are poultry, aquaculture and rice for Lagos State.

This, he added, will be achieved through supporting farmers’ productivity and their linkage to markets.

To enable the state access the fund, the Commissioner said the government has paid part of its counterpart fund contribution.

The State Project Coordinator, APPEALS, Mrs. Oluranti Oviebo, said the project relies on strategic alliances with partners to provide better life opportunities for women and youths.

According to her, the project will tackle key constraints of the agriculture sector, such as low productivity, lack of seed funds for establishing agro-processing plants, lack of access to supportive infrastructure, and low level of technology adoption and limited access to markets.

She added that the project targets 10,000 direct beneficiaries and 50, 000 indirect beneficiaries.

She assured that 35 per cent of the beneficiaries will be women, saying that 5 – 10 of the beneficiaries will be people with disabilities.