By Ify Mgbemena
The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, has called on livestock associations, pastoralists, farmers and other stakeholders to strengthen collaboration, adopt improved production practices and promote peaceful coexistence to unlock Nigeria’s livestock sector potential.
Speaking at the ongoing livestock rally in Kaduna, Maiha said the creation of a dedicated Ministry of Livestock Development in July 2024 had placed the sector at the centre of Nigeria’s economic transformation agenda.
He urged livestock farmers, pastoralists, ranchers, dairy farmers, traders, butchers, transporters, processors and marketers to take ownership of the ministry and work together to improve their livelihoods and strengthen harmony in their communities.
The minister said Nigeria’s livestock sector had operated below its potential for 62 years, with pastoralists facing limited access to pasture, water and veterinary services, while traders and butchers grappled with inadequate market infrastructure and poor working conditions. Farmers, he added, continued to contend with animal diseases, high feed costs and low productivity.
Maiha said the Federal Government was moving from promises to practical action through the Nigerian Livestock Master Plan, which provides a framework for coordinated investments in breeding, animal health, feed and fodder, infrastructure, markets and finance.
He disclosed that seven model veterinary hospitals had been established and equipped under the World Bank-supported Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (L-PRES) project, while 14 additional hospitals were nearing completion. The ministry also plans to establish veterinary primary clinics in all 774 local government areas.
To strengthen disease prevention, the minister said strategic vaccine storage facilities had been established in Agege, Lagos, Benin City, Adamawa and Plateau, among other locations, while the National Veterinary Research Institute in Vom, Plateau State, was being revitalised to support the production of up to 850 million vaccine doses annually.
Maiha said the government was also investing in pasture and fodder development, the rehabilitation of grazing reserves, livestock development centres, modern dairy and meat production, hygienic abattoirs and greater private-sector participation.
He added that thousands of artificial insemination procedures had been carried out on dairy cows in Sokoto, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Edo, Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa states, targeting milk production of at least 15 litres per cow daily.
The minister further disclosed that 21 states had established livestock-focused ministries and institutions, compared with only three before the current administration’s reforms, describing the development as evidence of growing institutional commitment to the sector.
He urged livestock associations to work with the ministry over the next three months to map major production centres and markets in their respective states, while calling for sustained efforts to prevent farmer-herder conflicts through peaceful engagement and dispute resolution.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of American West African Agro Limited, Jerry Cunningham, commended the Federal Government for establishing the ministry, describing the move as timely.
Cunningham, who said he had been in Nigeria for more than 26 years, noted that the livestock sector had long been overlooked but said the ministry’s establishment had helped demonstrate that peaceful coexistence between farmers and herders was achievable.
He praised Maiha’s commitment to developing the sector and urged Nigerians to support the administration’s livestock transformation agenda.
Also speaking, the National President of the Association of Cattle Dealers, Processors and Marketers of Nigeria (NACDPAMN), Alhaji Iliyasu Bulama, pledged the association’s full support for the Federal Government.
Bulama said the creation of the ministry had made livestock stakeholders feel recognised and represented, recalling that the association had previously presented an award to President Bola Tinubu in appreciation of the ministry’s establishment.
He reaffirmed the association’s solidarity with the President and its commitment to supporting the development of Nigeria’s livestock industry.
