Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, has warned that more than 50 million cattle in Nigeria are inadequately fed and urged urgent national and regional action, describing the feed crisis as a matter of survival for rural livelihoods and national stability.
Maiha made the point at the opening of a two-day Policy Dialogue Workshop convened to value PRISMA project results against regional agricultural priorities for West Africa and the Sahel. The event was organised by the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food under ECOWAS.
The minister represented by Peter Alike, Director, Technical Office of the Permanent Secretary noted that “In Nigeria, we have over 50 million cattle in the hands of rural dwellers, and these are animals that must be fed. So, for us, feeding and indeed, food is a national imperative that we cannot even leave for tomorrow,” Maiha said, stressing the cascading risks: poor feed undermines rural incomes, food security and social peace.
“It is an emergency because the tangential effect of not being able to provide the necessary feed for our animals has a direct effect on our very existence, rural livelihood and human peace.”
Peter Alike reiterated the ministry’s long-term vision for the sector, citing a 2025–2030 strategic plan and a current livestock contribution to GDP of about $32 billion. He added that, if the sector is properly developed, its contribution could exceed $94 billion within ten years.
Maiha applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for creating a dedicated Ministry of Livestock Development, saying Nigeria’s inclusion is essential to the success of large regional initiatives.
“If you have a project of this magnitude and you exclude Nigeria, then you are not likely to succeed because I don’t know of any other country in West Africa and the Sahel that has a dedicated Ministry of Livestock Development,” he said, underscoring the importance of Nigeria-led collaboration across ECOWAS and the Sahel.
The workshop, part of PRISMA’s work to align research and innovation with regional priorities, brings together policymakers and experts to tackle cross-border challenges such as feed quality, productivity, and resilience in agro-pastoral systems.
The minister’s intervention framed livestock feed security as an urgent policy priority requiring coordinated national planning and regional cooperation.
