Lubango - At least 3.3 million eggs were produced by poultry farms in Huila in 2024, a market that needs 35.8 million units/year, said on Thursday the head of the provincial department of the Huila Veterinary Institute, José Chicomo.
According to the veterinary official, production is concentrated in poultry farms in Humpata, Lubango, Matala, Chibia, Caluquembe and Cuvango.
In 2023, Chicomo said, production amounted to 523,921 eggs, but the figures refer to only one semester, since production had come to a standstill due to difficulties in obtaining feed and importing chicks.
He pointed out that in order to increase production in the province, feed factories need to be established, as poultry farmers still have to buy from other provinces in the country at great expense, although some adapt the feed to the birds, but productivity is not the same.
The purchase of breeding stock from Namibia and Portugal, labor and maintenance of infrastructure are among other obstacles that discourage poultry farmers in Huíla, according to the veterinarian.
Chicken production reaches 3.3% of annual demand
Poultry meat production amounted to 78,777 kilograms, from 43,765 birds, corresponding to 3.3% of the annual demand, set at 3 million 60,717 kg.
In 2023, 1,697 kg of meat was produced from 943 birds, which represented 0.05 percent of annual demand.
He pointed out that the project to finance the development of poultry farming with a focus on poultry meat production is underway, an initiative that is at the stage of selecting potential producers to increase the quantity.
He said that the annual demand was calculated according to the population figure of the National Statistics Institute (INE) for 2014 and the units that people should eat every day.
The province of Huila has an estimated population of more than 3 million inhabitants. EM/MS/AMP
