A situational analysis of the day-old chicks value chain in Oyo State, Nigeria: Agenda setting for policy reform

Attempts to ensure safety and quality control in the Day-Old Chicks (DOCs) value chain in Nigeria have been perceived to involve some duplicity/multiplicity of roles and/ or responsibilities, putting undue burden on the actors. Therefore, experts’ workshop on the DOCs value chain in Oyo State was implemented by the Innovation Lab for Policy Leadership in Agriculture and Food Security (PiLAF) to provide a guide for agenda setting for building a better industry. The workshop had the dual purpose of (i) undertaking a situational analysis of the DOCs value chain in Oyo State, Nigeria, and (ii) strengthening the policy process to effectively respond to the needs of the DOCs value chain in the state through clearly defined, unambiguous regulations and regulatory processes. Twenty-four experts comprising major actors along the DOCs value chain in Oyo State participated in the workshop. Using brainstorming and consensus building process, participants identified infrastructure and markets (strengths), weak regulatory control and high operating cost (weaknesses); supply gap, and good return on investment (opportunities); including adulteration and sharp practices (threats) as the most important Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) factors influencing or capable of affecting the DOCs industry in the state. The DOCs value chain operators identified National Institute of Animal Science (NIAS) followed by the Veterinary Council of Nigeria as the most visible operators in the DOCs value chain. However, the operators perceived the activities of the regulatory bodies as more geared toward revenue generation than actually enforcing compliance to standard practices in the industry. The value chain actors affirm there are overlaps in some aspects of policy guidelines for the DOCs value chain by the Veterinary Council of Nigeria and NIAS leading to what may be described as double taxation to the disadvantage of the actors. Specifically, registration and licensing, prohibition, and import and export domains are some of the aspects of the policy documents that need some minor modifications for clarity and separation of roles. Key words: Policy, Value chain, Animal Scientist, Chicks, Safety, Poultry industry, Public health, Regulation