By Eniola Arowolo
A Nigerian livestock expert has cautioned that ignoring cultural norms, gender roles, and household power dynamics could render livestock development policies ineffective, deepen inequality, and worsen food insecurity.
Dr. Junaidu Maina, a veterinarian and Chief Executive Officer of J.M Global Associates Ltd, issued the warning in a Facebook post where he reflected on four decades of experience in the sector.
According to him, some of Nigeria’s biggest policy failures in livestock development have not come from a lack of knowledge but from “the known unknowns we choose to ignore” and unseen social and economic factors that shape who truly owns livestock, who makes decisions, and who benefits from interventions.
Recalling the 1980s Rinderpest outbreak, Dr. Maina said the devastation taught pastoralists the value of vaccination after the Tissue Culture Rinderpest Vaccine wiped out the disease and built trust in veterinary services.
Many pastoralists, he noted, even became champions of human immunization programmes.
However, he warned that this legacy is being undermined by anti-vaccination sentiments, leaving Africa vulnerable to livestock diseases that already cause more than 20 percent of production losses annually.
“Swift action is vital to restore public trust in vaccination, reduce antimicrobial use, and prevent economic losses,” he stressed.
Dr. Maina also criticized policies rooted in misunderstanding, citing a Nigerian state that outlawed open grazing in 2017 in favour of ranching, a model he said was wrongly touted as a “global best practice.”
The law, he argued, criminalized pastoralism and sparked protracted conflicts.
He further highlighted how household dynamics often distort livestock ownership. In polygamous families, wives may own and manage cattle discreetly, yet external actors assume the husband controls the herd.
This, he said, creates flawed interventions where responsibilities for costs and benefits are unclear.
“During Nigeria’s 2006 Avian Influenza outbreak, compensation programmes exposed another hidden challenge: many poultry farms were owned by women, yet payments went to their husbands due to cultural and financial restrictions.
“The real flock owners were left invisible and uncompensated,” Maina recalled, linking the problem to systemic barriers against women in agriculture.
Looking ahead, Dr. Maina urged policymakers to embrace digital financial services, livestock telemedicine, and gender-inclusive innovations.
“Livestock productivity isn’t just about animals; it’s about equity, resilience, and food security for millions,” he said.
