Maize, Soya & Poultry: The Trilateral Price War Nigeria Must Win

The Feed Crisis Behind the Protein Crisis

NIGERIA’S most affordable protein—poultry—depends almost entirely on two farm inputs the country still struggles to stabilise: maize and soya. Sunday Ezeobiora, National President of PAN, argues that commodity stabilisation is poultry stabilisation.

He advocates government-backed dry-season maize and soya expansion, warning that if feed prices remain volatile, poultry will remain cheap in demand, expensive in production.

The Export Opportunity vs. Standards Readiness

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) opens a regional market Nigeria is well positioned to lead, especially in processed agric products and poultry exports. But industry investigations highlight a competitive reality: Nigeria has market size, but rivals have standards compliance.

To dominate West Africa’s poultry or agro-processing markets, Nigeria must demonstrate:

• Certified processing hubs

• Cold chain traceability

• Export-standard quality assurance

• Stable feed supply pricing

• Zero tolerance for farmer and supply-chain insecurity

Industrial Sovereignty: More than a Farming Goal

Experts emphasise that Nigeria must scale local processing including:

• Cassava and maize → animal feed

• Maize → industrial starch

• Cassava → industrial starch and ethanol

• Maize and soya → poultry feed markets

This, they argue, is how to insulate Nigeria from global shocks and convert farm growth into industrial wealth.

Investigative Gaps for Editorial Monitoring

Analysts raise unanswered questions:

• Will Nigeria publish a feed commodity pricing calendar for 2026?

• Will irrigation clusters be mapped and audited?

• Will farmer IDs be tied to biometric verification?

• Will export hubs be rated publicly like exam centres?

• Will ghost beneficiary networks be prosecuted or just discouraged?

The Central Message from Stakeholders

As Ezeobiora stated: “2026 can be the year of self-sufficiency—if government, private sector, and farmers work hand-in-hand.”

But editorial investigations conclude with a sharper reminder: Cooperation must be engineered. Sovereignty must be audited. Hunger must be treated as a policy failure, not a seasonal headline.