Urges youths to embrace agriculture
By Anayo Okoli
ENUGU — The South East Development Commission (SEDC) has pledged to prioritise the development of the poultry industry in the region as part of efforts to unlock its agricultural potential, boost food security and create jobs.
The Managing Director of SEDC, Mark Okoye Jnr., disclosed this at the Eastern International Poultry Summit 2026, organised by the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), South-East zone, in Enugu.
Okoye, who was represented by the commission’s Executive Director, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Cliff Ogbede, said the development of poultry farming would enhance nutrition, catalyse economic growth and create thousands of jobs in the region.
Speaking on the theme, “From Farm to Market: Scaling Nigeria’s Poultry Trade and Investment,” Ogbede said poultry was one of the sectors the commission would devote resources to in its drive to position the South-East as a leading producer of poultry products in Nigeria.
He expressed concern over the region’s dependence on other parts of the country for livestock and food despite its vast agricultural potential.
Ogbede recalled that the administration of the late Dr Michael Okpara, Premier of the former Eastern Region, leveraged agriculture and other sectors to accelerate economic development in the 1950s and 1960s.
According to him, the SEDC intends to draw lessons from that era while adapting its development blueprint to current economic realities.
He said experts had been engaged to study and modernise Okpara’s development strategy, with emphasis on agriculture, livestock production, value addition and private-sector investment.
Ogbede said poultry development would be a major focus of the commission’s agricultural intervention.
“I am proud to tell you today that poultry development is one area that the SEDC will spend time and money to support.
“If you see the records of how much we send out of this region monthly just to buy cows and poultry products, you will know that we are in big trouble,” he said.
He identified high feed costs, climate-related challenges and dependence on other regions for inputs as some of the factors undermining poultry production in the South-East.
According to him, the region risks serious food and economic challenges if it continues to depend heavily on livestock and poultry products from other parts of the country.
Ogbede also said the region was not meeting its nutritional potential through agriculture, stressing the need to increase local production and improve access to affordable food.
He said the establishment of regional development commissions had created an opportunity for different parts of the country to compete in economic development.
“In the South-East, we should do our best to reclaim our status as a region with the fastest-growing economic potential,” he said.
The SEDC executive director further said several development partners had expressed willingness to support farmers in the region through capacity building, blended financing and improved market access.
He, however, said some partners had raised concerns about the tendency of people and organisations in the region to operate in silos rather than collaborate.
Ogbede urged youths in the South-East to embrace agriculture instead of relocating to Lagos, Abuja and other cities in search of employment.
“Agriculture is a big business,” he said, citing the Netherlands as an example of how a relatively small landmass could generate significant economic value from agriculture.
He said the SEDC would also focus on rebuilding infrastructure destroyed during the civil war, tackling erosion and addressing climate-related challenges as part of its broader development mandate.
“We are going to do a lot in agriculture. Our children should feed and our food should have enough nutritional value. We must also be intentional in making money from agriculture in our environment,” Ogbede said.
He assured PAN that the commission would collaborate with the association to achieve tangible results in the poultry sector.
Earlier, National Vice President of PAN, Sir Izuolisa Onu, said the South-East was once the largest poultry hub in Nigeria before losing its position to the South-West.
Onu said the association had begun discussions on how to revive the sector and use it as a catalyst for economic growth and job creation in the region.
He expressed satisfaction with the participation of the SEDC and state governments at the summit, saying the discussions would focus on practical measures to make the poultry industry more impactful.
Also speaking, a former adviser to the United States Department of Agriculture, Uche Nzeka, called for the development of a comprehensive poultry strategy for the South-East.
Nzeka said the strategy should address the challenges confronting poultry farmers and promote an integrated commercial value chain for the industry.
He proposed the establishment of an integrated poultry value-chain company, to be known as Oriental Integrated Poultry Limited.
The summit was attended by the President of the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Nnanyelugo Onyemelukwe; former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Toby Okechukwu; senior officials of the SEDC; commissioners from Anambra and Imo states; representatives of the Enugu State Government; and PAN chairmen from the five South-East states and Abuja.
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