By Cross Udo, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu said on Thursday that the long-term neglect of the livestock sector has weighed heavily on the country’s import bills, with milk and dairy products accounting for between $1.2bn and $1.5bn.
However, the President also said that foreign investors are ready to take advantage of the country’s huge potential in the livestock sector.
President Tinubu stated this at the Stakeholders Consultative Workshop on Livestock Reforms at the Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The President, who said livestock can contribute so much to the Nigerian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provide decent jobs, assured that his administration will create an enabling environment for business to thrive.
He said, “I am delighted to join you at this consultative workshop dedicated to one of the most critical aspects of our nation’s development.
“The livestock sector is a very important sector. We will give it all it needs to bring value to our country. Stakeholders, I stand here assuring you that you will not regret the collaboration and investment coming into this sector.
“It is about time that we did it right. We are a country of over 200 million people and cannot serve our children one pint of milk in the classroom per day. We didn’t see the investment opportunities or the economy in the past. We must work together to realise the dream now that we’ve seen it.
“Our shared mission is clear: we aim to transform the livestock sector from its current subsistence model into a thriving, commercialised industry, an industry that significantly contributes to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product and provides decent jobs and sustainable livelihoods for our growing population.
“The potential is immense: With 563 million chickens, 58 million cattle, 124 million goats, 60 million sheep, and 16 million pigs, Nigeria is the leading livestock producer in West Africa. Yet, despite this vast resource, we face stark realities.
“Our annual production of animal-source foods, like milk at 0.7 billion litres, meat at 1.48 million Tonnes and eggs at 0.69 million metric Tonnes, falls far short of our needs. Our per capita consumption levels—8.7 litres of milk, 9 kg of meat, 3.5kg or 45 eggs per year—are troublingly low compared to global averages. These are 44 litres of milk, 19 kg of beef, and between 160 and 180 eggs per year.
“What is more worrisome to me is the average milk yield by cow breeds managed by our pastoralists: it is a mere 0.5 to 1.5 litres per day, compared to a global average of 6.6 litres per day. We can do much better!
“The long-term neglect of the livestock sector has weighed heavily on the country’s import bills, with milk and dairy products accounting for $1.2bn and $1.5bn.
“Yes, we can do it. We can bring prosperity to our people. We can feed our children. From grass, we can achieve grace. We can contribute so much to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provide decent jobs,” the President noted.
He reassured the public that past mistakes, such as neglecting livestock farming and relying on dairy imports, would be avoided.
He pledged a robust framework to stimulate prosperity in the sector, instilling confidence in his commitment.
President Tinubu commended the Presidential Livestock Reform Implementation Committee, led by the Co-Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, and the Secretary, Prof Muhammed Yahaya Kuta, for their commitment to repositioning the livestock sector.
“Your Excellency, Chairman of the NGF, Abdulrazaq, thank you for assuring C-of-Os and other instruments from other areas. I also know that the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, with the vast land in his domain in Niger State, will accommodate many investors.
“We didn’t see the cold room investment. We haven’t seen that opportunity before. But it is coming. We are going to give it all it takes.
“The opportunity is there; when I inaugurated the Presidential Livestock Reform Committee, I didn’t see the path clearly until they started working. Thank you, Prof Attahiru Jega,” the President stated.
He said, “We can create a vivid picture of the future we want to see; it’s the future of our country. The economic opportunities for our children, and with that effort, we can say God bless Nigeria.”
*Says foreigners ready to invest in livestock sector
The President noted that “the long neglect has weighed on our country’s import bill; between $1.2 and $1.5bn is being spent to import dairy food.
“What are we doing with the land size and the opportunity there? We didn’t see it. When I inaugurated the livestock committee, I didn’t see the path clearly until they started working. Thank you, Attahiru Jega, and my friend, Umar Ganduje.
“We will create this environment where the business will thrive. It is our duty to our children and future generations to get this right. Let’s unite in our effort, from reform to realizing our dreams and ambitions. I stand before you fully committed to this.
“Investors, foreign investors, are already asking questions: how will we collaborate? The committee, the Ministry, and I will do everything possible to attract them. We can create a vivid picture of the future we want to see, the future of our country. We can say God bless Nigeria for the economic opportunity for our children.”
Also speaking, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State promised to ensure the buy-in of governors to ensure that the programme succeeds because of its importance in achieving food security through livestock reforms.
“I want to assure you that there will be 100 percent buy-in from sub nationals to make this a success. This is not just about food security; it’s also about national security,” he said.
The governor further said, “We’ve had several programs before, like the Ruga programme and the National Livestock Transformation programme. We’ve not achieved anything with them. They’re just files in the Ministry of Agriculture.
“What we are doing here today is laying the foundation of a better future for us in the state and the local governments.
That’s where the land is. We have to make efforts to make land available to make the federal government’s policy a success for us in Kwara. Over the years, herdsmen have roamed across our countryside.
“They’ve been there for hundreds of years but never, at any moment, sought to seek a certificate of occupancy. So they believe, rightfully to their beliefs, that land and water belong to God.
“So, they’re not interested in your C of O or right of O. But this is where we need to start changing and educating them to say you should have a C of O in pursuing and deepening that effort. We worked with the French Treasury, the French government, which funded a sustainable ranching project free of charge, which will be based on a ranch that goes back to the First Republic.
“In Nigeria today, we still have a lot of ranches dating back to the First Republic, which is moribund and is not being used; just nobody is using them. Now, this policy will also show how we can develop these ranches. So, with the aid of the French government, we’ve created a policy for sustainable agriculture.
“Herdsmen don’t need to roam about again, and we will be issuing C of O to some of them who agreed to settle now. We spend billions on importing dairy products. If our herders continue to roam, we will continue to produce one litre of milk per cattle. If we make them sedentary, they will begin to produce as much as 15 to 20 litres per day.
“We have the breed like the Bokoloji breed that can produce as much as five to six litres. If you go to Europe, South Africa, and worldwide, where there is high dairy production, you will see that the cows live like the upper class.
“They don’t need to roam about. They don’t need to do anything other than eat, drink, and sleep, but ours roam from Kauran Mamoda to Ota, and by the time they get there, they won’t give you any milk. So this is part of my understanding that this reform will happen.”
The governor warned, “If we do not resolve this herdsmen issue through this reform, we will continue to have conflicts there. Each state will be urged to create areas for meat and dairy production, and we can’t say we are forcing Abia states to do ranch.
“We know the states that have the land. We know the regions that have the weather and climate sustainable for them. So, on this note, on behalf of the Chairman of the Northern Governor’s Forum. I’m the governor of a state. I’ll invite the Co-Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, to Kaduna on Monday to come and address the Northern Governor’s Forum to deepen the discussion.”
In his remarks, the Co-Chairman of the Presidential Livestock Reforms Implementation Committee and former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof Attahiru Jega, stated that President Tinubu inaugurated the committee on July 19, 2024.
He said, “Unlocking the potentials in the long-neglected livestock sector across its value-chain and reforming and improving its entire ecosystem would be immensely beneficial to virtually everybody, everywhere throughout the country, in terms of, among others, new business opportunities, generation of employment and incomes, especially for our teaming youths, contribution food and nutrition security, and remarkable value addition to our country’s GDP.
“Significantly, reforming the sector would also help to mitigate the perennial conflicts between farmers and herders, which have bedeviled the sector, with negative consequences of community relations and beneficial, productive activities.”
Jega explained that the objective of the stakeholders’ consultative engagement was to obtain additional input to the reform process and buy-in from a range of critical stakeholders drawn from the Nigerian Livestock value chain and ecosystem.
He said, “We have gathered in this room, in addition to our distinguished guests, 350 selected and invited critical stakeholders for this workshop. We hope that engagement with critical stakeholders would be a continuous process, as all hands need to be on deck to ensure a well-considered reform process and its seamless and successful implementation.”
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, thanked the President for his “bold action, exemplary leadership, and unparalleled commitment to livestock reform.”
Kyari assured of working with the Ministry of Livestock Development to realise the President’s vision to diversify the economy and empower more Nigerians.
