(http://fmi.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/At-the-NAPRI-Hatchery-site-for-inspection--300x224.jpg) The West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP), in collaboration with the Zaria-based National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI), and some six private hatcheries in Nigeria are set to popularise and introduce to the Nigerian poultry farmer the "Shika-Brown parent Stock", new species of poultry that can lay eggs for two years consecutively. The specie, an indigenous innovation resulting from years of intensive research efforts was first released by NAPRI in 2000 but remained largely on the shelf ever since due to lack of funds to propagate the innovation.
The National Project Coordinator of the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP), Prof. Damian O. Chikwendu who addressed the tripartite meeting of WAAPP, NAPRI and a cross section of private commercial hatchery stakeholders in the country held at the NAPRI Conference room in Zaria on Thursday, 16th May, 2013 said, the programme will ensure sustainable supply of parent stock to private hatcheries nationwide. The hatcheries in turn, he said, would produce Shika-Brown day old chick in commercial quantity to supply to poultry farmers all over the country. The poultry farmers, he added would in turn be expected to meet the market demand for poultry products and its by-products nationwide. (http://fmi.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/DSC01696.jpg) (http://fmi.gov.ng/as-waapp-intervenes-mass-production-of-shika-brown-parent-stock-for-the-poultry-industry-underway/dsc01696/)
Whilst he was giving a timeline of six months to enable the project come to reality, Prof. Chikwendu demanded total commitment on the parts of the private hatcheries and the Animal Production Research Institute in order to bring the effort of the pioneering public private partnership (PPP) platform into fruition. One of the outcomes of the recent visit of the World Bank Intervention Mission to Nigeria, he admitted, was a directive to WAAPP-Nigeria to ensure the success of the Shika-Brown project through a PPP concept.
He also called on NAPRI and all other agricultural Institutes in partnership with WAAPP to urgently retire all outstanding funds disbursed to them by WAAPP, if they are to expect any further disbursement. He reminded them that the World Bank in its strident policy regards all unretired funds as "unutilised" and thus subject to being recovered.
While he was delivering a remark at the meeting, the Executive Secretary of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), Prof. Yusuf Bala Abubakar disclosed that the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina is very passionate about the commercialization of the Shika-Brown and called on all partners to demonstrate full commitment to the success of the project. He also appealed to all agricultural research Institutes in the country to remove all impediments to further access to funds by retiring the ones earlier disbursed to them. He commended the National Project Coordinator for being very critical of the performances of the Research Institutes, performances which he remarked are not yet in consonant with world Bank standards and expectations.
While speaking at the meeting, the Executive Director of NAPRI, Prof. J. O. Gefu disclosed that his Institute already has over 4,000 layers available and another 5,000 growers ready for the take-off of the operation. The Institute, he assured is set to move on with the six identified hubs of very active commercial hatcheries located in Ibadan, Abakaliki, Gombe, Zaria, among other places.
The release of the Shika-Brown specie is one of the major recent achievements of the Institute. NAPRI is charged with the mandate of carrying out research into all forms of livestock and animals, both wild and domestic.
Via: Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria