Sana'a - Saba:
In a step that would organize and develop the poultry sector and serve and protect citizens, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources has taken a number of treatments to reduce the problems facing the sector, including implementing a mechanism for buying and selling poultry by weight instead of selling by number.
The poultry sector has witnessed a state of instability throughout the past periods that had negative effects on production and on citizens as well, as a result of fluctuations in poultry selling prices. Sometimes prices rose significantly, making it impossible for consumers to buy, and sometimes they decreased, causing huge losses to producers, especially small ones, which negatively affected the productivity of this sector, as well as harming the citizen's food security during periods of high prices.
Experts and specialists attributed the reasons for the rise in poultry prices to the production's complete dependence on imported raw materials, the weakness of the previous administration and its policy in managing production and marketing, and organizing poultry markets, which were subject to external dictates and international organizations.
The poultry sector in Yemen was directly targeted by the aggression, which caused the destruction of a large number of production farms in various governorates, in addition to targeting the infrastructure, which resulted in losses of millions of dollars.
The aggression countries also worked to prevent and obstruct the flow of raw materials from poultry feed and mothers, which caused direct losses to most breeders and producers and increased production costs. The systematic targeting is still ongoing to this day, accompanied by an unprecedented rise in poultry selling prices.
To reduce the problem caused by the rise in poultry prices, which doubles the suffering of citizens, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources intervened and took many treatments, including the move to implement the mechanism of buying and selling poultry by weight instead of selling by number, as a strategic option and mechanism that is used in all countries of the world.
Wrong Policies:
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, Dr. Radwan Al-Rubai, confirmed that the agricultural sector has been subjected to systematic neglect and destruction over the past decades and has suffered economic losses due to aggression and siege, which has caused many poultry farms to stop, and led to an increase in the prices of inputs and supplies such as feed, vaccines, and others.
He pointed out that one of the most prominent challenges facing the poultry sector in Yemen is marketing, as the marketing policy in previous years relied on a marketing system managed according to an agenda that does not serve the poultry sector in the long term.
Al-Rubai pointed out that these wrong policies adopted the mechanism of selling poultry by number rather than by weight as is practiced in various countries of the world, which exposed many producers and breeders to huge losses, especially during periods of low prices, while sales intermediaries from major traders became the beneficiaries of selling using this mechanism, and thus negatively affected the consumer.
Necessary interventions to advance the sector:
Minister Al-Rubai explained that the ministry's vision comes within the framework of implementing the directives of the leadership and government to enhance food security, achieve self-sufficiency, and focus on investment in the agricultural and livestock sector, and encourage families to raise poultry at home, and other urgent interventions and solutions to organize, develop and advance the sector.
He explained that implementing the mechanism of buying and selling by weight for local poultry is one of the urgent options to protect the poultry sector and restore its health.. stressing that the ministry has begun implementing a broad awareness campaign to create community awareness about the importance of adopting the mechanism of selling poultry by weight as it protects the producer from losses and achieves an appropriate price for the consumer, thus achieving growth for this important sector.
The Minister of Agriculture stated that the poultry sector is one of the most important productive sectors contributing to supporting the economy, as it provides job opportunities for more than three hundred thousand workers, in addition to being one of the productive sectors related to food security, as it provides more than 70 percent of white meat and eggs for local consumption.
He stressed the trend towards localizing the poultry feed industry, including corn and soybeans, as their cultivation will be expanded and production quantities will be increased through contract farming via agricultural cooperatives.
Selling by weight preserves rights:
Regarding the mechanism of selling by weight for poultry, the head of the committee for buying and selling by weight for poultry - Director General of Animal Wealth, Eng. Abdul Aziz Al-Junaid, confirmed that this mechanism will work to preserve the rights of small producers, consumers, poultry farm owners and marketers, and prevent price manipulation.
He pointed out that there is a trend to generalize this mechanism and apply it in various poultry markets and slaughterhouses in a way that preserves everyone's rights and contributes to the development of this economic sector.. Pointing out that there are many challenges facing the poultry sector in Yemen as a result of previous accumulations, including selling by number, which negatively affected prices, reaching very high levels.
Al-Junaid stated that the process of meat production when raising poultry for this purpose depends on the principle of food conversion of inputs to plant proteins that are not palatable to humans, and converting them into animal protein in the form of poultry.
He pointed out that this means that the food conversion rate is based primarily on converting weights of grains (sources of plant protein and energy) to other weights of white meat (animal protein), for example, to produce one kilogram of meat, two kilograms of grain feed are consumed and converted.
Here lies the importance of selling by weight, as the entire production process depends on converting weights from the form of plant protein to weights in the form of animal protein, so the food conversion equation is based on the converted weights, and this requires that buying and selling by weights provide protection for the producer and consumer, and spare producers losses.
Protecting small producers:
In turn, the representative of small poultry producers in the Weight Sales Committee, Nabil Al-Wadaei, attributed the feasibility of selling poultry by weight to factors related to the large losses incurred by small producers as a result of the decline in poultry prices in wholesale markets, as well as the result of the unfairness between the producer and the buyer.
He pointed out the importance of implementing the weight-based selling mechanism as a fair and just solution for all, including farmers, consumers, sellers and buyers. He considered this mechanism the best option to preserve small poultry farmers and reactivate those who stopped working in this sector. He stressed the importance of implementing an awareness campaign in conjunction with the start of implementing the weight-based selling mechanism and obligating everyone to implement it, by activating the regulatory aspect of the relevant authorities, so that the citizen can see the positive impact of this mechanism through a decrease in poultry prices and their stability at a certain level, and ensuring that their prices do not rise in the future.
Selling by weight achieves justice:
Mohammed Al-Zahri, one of the major poultry producers, pointed out that following the system of buying and selling by weight instead of selling by number will enhance transparency in the pricing process and ensure justice for the consumer and the breeder.
He stressed that adopting and working with this mechanism will contribute to developing the poultry sector in Yemen and protecting investors from the losses they are exposed to.. indicating that many investors have left this profession due to the losses they incur as a result of not implementing the selling by weight system.
He considered the selling by weight process to be more accurate in determining the actual value of poultry, and will lead to improving profitability, continuity and expanding the activity, as it will enable the consumer to obtain chicken at prices that are consistent with their actual weights.
He called for the rapid implementation of this mechanism to preserve this vital sector and for the beginning to be by creating community awareness about the importance of the mechanism of buying and selling by weight, which generally aims to give priority to the public interest over personal interests.
Awareness is an urgent necessity:
In this regard, Mohammed Al-Salmi, owner of a poultry slaughterhouse in the capital, confirms his readiness to implement this mechanism, provided that the relevant authority supervises its implementation and determines the selling price by weight, according to a fair and just mechanism for all, and according to studied standards.
Qassem Al-Najashi, owner of poultry shops in Sana'a Governorate, agrees with him. He points out that everyone's commitment to selling by weight will serve the interests of the consumer citizen and small poultry farmers, as well as marketers, retailers and wholesalers.
Fahd Al-Tawil, owner of a restaurant in the capital, believes that selling by weight will ensure the provision of poultry meat at a stable price throughout the year, which is a mechanism that meets the desires of his customers and helps him maintain them. He indicated that the rise in prices affects the activity of restaurants, as it forces them to raise the price, which causes discontent among customers, which affects the daily income of the restaurant.
As for citizen Abdullah Al-Amiri, he called for adopting a mechanism of selling by weight to ensure the continuous availability of poultry at reasonable prices throughout the year. He indicated that some poultry sellers sell at exaggerated prices according to their mood, which constitutes a burden on the citizen and doubles his suffering, especially in light of the exceptional circumstances the country is going through as a result of the continued aggression and siege.
M.M
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