NIGERIA, 7 March 2022: The University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) has secured a USD 1.44m (N600 million) loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria to establish a commercial poultry farm to boost the production of eggs and chicken, Mikhail Buhari, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research, Technology and Innovation, of the university stated this while speaking with the local news agency.

Buhari said that UNILORIN was the only institution that got the highly competitive loan. In his words, the GG Max Poultry Farms, if established, would be a key player in the agro-based business to revive the poultry sub-sector.

The deputy vice-chancellor said that closing the gap between demand and supply will reduce the importation of eggs and other poultry products. He said the university received the loan because the proposal it presented was judged as the best among competing universities.

“The university would be running the farm with the support of an external consultant,’’ Buhari said, adding that the farm was situated at Amoyo in the Ifelodun Local Government Area.

When operational, the farm would produce 5,000 broilers per week and raise 9,000 day-old broilers weekly. It would maintain a layers’ population of 16,000 which translates to 3,679,200 eggs per year, he added.

This project is intended to create entrepreneurship skills among students as it will also generate employment opportunities.

Image credit: chawadi.com