Olam looks to bolster veterinary and scientific support for Nigerian poultry sector

As commercial poultry production in Nigeria experiences rapid growth, so does the need for vital veterinary and scientific support, said Olam.

That agribusiness group inaugurated a new US$150m poultry feed mill, hatchery and poultry farm in Kaduna State in Nigeria in September 2017, with Ceva supporting the agribusiness group’s hatchery vaccination program for day-old-chicks (DOC) in that hatchery.

Now the two players said they have formed a joint committee consisting of their experts and managers to explore four main potential areas of collaboration and technical cooperation, specifically:

• Upgrading of Olam’s veterinary diagnostic laboratory at Kaduna to become a reference lab for Sub-Saharan Africa;
• Development of new private labs in other regions of Nigeria to provide cost-effective and timely diagnostic support for poultry and other animal husbandry farms;
• Training of Olam’s managers and field employees by Ceva on proper vaccination techniques, on-farm diagnosis and lab analysis, with an option for the training to be extended to select customers of Olam’s feed and DOC at a later stage; and
• Setting up of research projects locally and internationally involving other scientific partners for deeper epidemiological evaluation of diseases and appropriate solutions for Nigeria’s poultry sector.