The Federal Government has launched the National Council on Livestock Development, a new policy and coordination body designed to drive major reforms and attract new investments into Nigeria’s livestock economy. The council was unveiled on Monday during its first meeting in Yola, where officials described it as the most ambitious effort to transform the sector in decades. The initiative focuses on modernisation, commercialisation, expansion of value chains and reducing conflicts linked to livestock production.
Idi Mukhtar Maiha, minister of Livestock Development, said the administration aims to grow the livestock economy from 32 billion dollars to 74 billion dollars within five years. He explained that this target is part of the National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy and supported by the National Livestock Master Plan. According to him, the government is already holding discussions with multinational and local companies, including Arla, Nestlé, Danone, Promasidor, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, Integrated Dairies and L&Z Farms. These companies are considering investments in dairy, beef, fodder, breeding, poultry, piggery and digital traceability systems for livestock.
Maiha noted that development partners are also funding dairy pilot projects, climate-smart livestock systems and programmes that support peacebuilding. He said more partners are showing interest because the new council provides one clear policy direction for the entire sector. He listed several achievements recorded during the ministry’s first year, including the registration of eight new pasture species, the first time such development has happened in nearly fifty years. He added that the National Strategy on Animal Genetic Resources has been completed, giving the country a guide for improving animal breeds.
Under the L-PRES programme, the government has deployed solar-powered vaccine cold rooms, boreholes, livestock dips, milk collection centres and slaughter slabs. Maiha said laboratories at the National Veterinary Research Institute in Vom have been rehabilitated and are expanding vaccine output from 120 million to 850 million doses each year. He also mentioned the commissioning of the Wase Livestock Village, which serves as a model for converting 417 national grazing reserves into modern ranch-style settlements equipped with schools, clinics, water facilities, pasture fields and processing hubs.
The minister stressed that modernising grazing reserves and promoting ranching remain key steps toward ending long-standing clashes between farmers and herders while creating profitable livestock communities. Nearly half of Nigeria’s states have now established dedicated livestock ministries or agencies to support reforms.
During their goodwill messages, Musa Mustapha and Tasir Raji, chairmen of the Senate and House Committees on Livestock, pledged full legislative backing. They said new bills will be introduced to strengthen value chains, improve land use regulation, support ranching reforms and build investor confidence.
Raji pointed out that Nigeria still has a significant production deficit despite having 58 million cattle, 134 million goats, 60 million sheep, 60 million pigs and 563 million poultry. He added that the country imports 65 percent of its milk and spends billions each year on livestock products that could be produced locally. He urged the council to create clear strategies to improve national nutrition levels, especially since Nigeria’s per-capita consumption remains below global averages.
Chinyere Akujobi, permanent secretary of the ministry and chairman of the new council, said the NCLD will serve as the main policy and coordination platform for the sector. She explained that it will align federal and state actions, mobilise private capital and strengthen partnerships with investors and development agencies. She said the council’s work supports the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which emphasises food security, economic diversification, value addition, job creation and export growth.
The council’s activities will focus on four major pillars: genetic improvement, rehabilitation of grazing reserves, expansion of value chains and conflict-to-commerce initiatives to reduce insecurity in livestock-producing regions. Officials believe the reforms will attract large-scale investments, cut the 1.5 billion dollar annual dairy import bill, create millions of jobs, increase rural incomes and boost Nigeria’s competitiveness across regional markets.
Maiha said decisions reached in Yola will shape the country’s livestock economy for generations and called on all stakeholders to support a unified national agenda. Attahiru Jega, senior special assistant to the President on Livestock Development, delivered the keynote address at the event.
Source - https://www.nigeriastartupact.ng
