Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, has urged youths in Northern Nigeria to take advantage of opportunities in the livestock sector, which he said could grow from its current $32 billion value to $74 billion by 2035.
Maiha made the call at the 2026 Arewa Agricultural and Innovation Summit held at Bayero University, Kano, where he described livestock as one of Nigeria’s “lowest hanging fruits” for job creation.
He said about 95 per cent of the country’s livestock resources were located in the North, but lamented that animals were still transported over long distances and traded largely in raw form, resulting in significant economic losses.
The minister cited the Maigatari livestock market in Jigawa State, where about N7 billion worth of transactions are conducted weekly, but with little value added.
He said the Federal Government was working with northern states and the National Assembly to establish modern abattoirs through public-private partnerships, adding that the transportation and trading of live animals would be phased out within the next two to three years.
According to Maiha, a modern abattoir processing 500 bulls daily could create about 10,000 jobs across animal production, feed supply, veterinary services, transportation, meat processing and cold-chain logistics.
He urged youths to look beyond traditional farming and explore opportunities in livestock processing, animal feed, leather, organic fertiliser and other by-products.
Maiha noted that Lagos alone consumes about 2.9 million cattle annually, saying processing the animals in the North before transporting the meat would reduce losses and create more economic value.
“Don’t leave the university and begin to write application letters. Leave the university, think of self-employment and think also of employing people,” he told participants.
Earlier, the summit chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, said 200 emerging agripreneurs had been trained in livestock, poultry, horticulture and fisheries to help turn youths’ and women’s interest in agriculture into sustainable businesses.
The summit convener, Hauwa Liman, said more than 20,000 youths had been engaged across seven states through the Youth Opportunity Summits in the past two years.
The event also featured startup pitching and culinary competitions, with winners in each category receiving a grand prize of N1 million.
