August 24, 2021

NUSEB, for the broiler revolution in Niger

Animal Production Related

Niger

During the night in Niamey, the capital of Niger, the main boulevards are all occupied by small businesses. Among them, braised chicken sellers take the lion's share. In Niger, the demand for poultry meat is increasing. Despite the existence of a few poultry farms, the Nigerien broiler industry is struggling to meet local demand, leaving a large gap, filled by imports of broiler chicken and recycled chicken or reformed chicken.

For the history, how was Nuseb born?

Following the observation of the massive entry of reformed hens unfit for consumption on the Nigerien market, a local company has decided to invest in the sector to contribute to the well-being of the population by providing them with fresh, healthy, and very good tasting chicken.

NUSEB is a private Nigerien company specialized in the production and marketing of poultry products. Qualified today as one of the largest integrated poultry farms in Niger, It is one of the first farms that has invested in modern and adequate infrastructures and logistics in order to revolutionize the poultry industry in Niger. Ismaël HIMADOU HAMANI, the young managing director of the farm, who is less than 30 years old, has great ambitions.

For a country to develop, it is imperative that it achieves food self-sufficiency. Our ambition is to ensure that the entire Nigerien population can have access to poultry products at a lower cost.

Being the leader in broiler chicken and table eggs

Next to Nuseb, there are a large number of small producers, roasters and processors. The chicken business is very lucrative today, and attracts more and more young people.

Customers from all segments of the population are demanding in terms of quality. Their preference for local chicken requires the actors to have a reference for their supply. This is the case of Moussa Yayé who lives 150 km from Niamey, in the town of Dosso. Moussa Yayé is a local breeder who buys chicks from Nuseb. When we met him, he was short of stock, but refused to take the chicks elsewhere. According to him, there is a particular reason.

With Nuseb, the chicks are controlled and they are of very good quality. In the past, we imported chicks from Nigeria with a lot of losses. Nuseb is close by. Its chicks are resistant and the price is reasonable. I buy a chick at 700 FCFA ($1,25) against 900 FCFA ($1,60) the chicks imported from France and 800 FCFA ($1,43) those from Nigeria. Nuseb's chicks are well maintained, and the level of loss is at most 2% against 10% of imported chicks. One of the great advantages is also that Nuseb produces poultry feed. In addition, the company also provides us with its animal technicians to train us on broiler rearing.

There is no competition between small-scale producers and Nuseb. Rather, according to CEO Ismaël Himadou Hamani, Nuseb helps small local poultry farmers to have the means to engage in sustainable and profitable poultry production.

oday, many producers import hatching eggs. Nuseb's long-term ambition is to satisfy its own needs and supply other farmers who still import. We intend to help more than 4000 farmers by providing them with chicks and feed. Then allow these farmers to sell their chickens to Nuseb in order to slaughter them and keep them in good conditions.

Facing the energy challenge

The energy challenge is a big one for our champion Nuseb. Two years ago, the company recorded a loss of more than 30,000 laying hens following a four hour power cut. The loss was estimated at nearly 400 million CFA francs.

The climatic conditions in Niger are not favorable for raising broilers and laying hens. The Nuseb farm operates half on electric power. With the latest generation equipment, the automation of the system to make a good production remains energy intensive for the company. The company intends to innovatively tackle this challenge by embracing solar energy for a significant part of its operations.

Towards an inclusive business

In 2020, Nuseb entered into a partnership with 2SCALE in order to better structure the broiler value chain, to make it more inclusive and sustainable by linking the different actors of the poultry industry. By 2023, this partnership aims to sustainably transform the Nigerien poultry sector and provide consumers with healthy local chicken at an affordable price through the inclusion of small-scale poultry farmers (primarily youth and women), the development of a capacity-building program for the actors in this value chain, as well as facilitating their access to the necessary quality inputs. Through this partnership, Nuseb sees itself in the years to come, in collaboration with other players, filling the Nigerien market with quality chicken.

Our ambition today is that broiler chicken be consumed by all segments of the population. Whether it is the middle class population as well as low-income consumers.

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