July 16, 2024

 

Nigeria's agri industry players urge country's new livestock ministry to tackle food insecurity

 

Agribusiness stakeholders in Nigeria, including the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Commercial Dairy Ranchers Association of Nigeria, have demanded that the country's newly created Ministry of Livestock Development addresses food insecurity.

 

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu approved the creation of the ministry on July 9, as he inaugurated the Presidential Committee on Livestock Reforms at the State House, Abuja.

 

The chairman of the Agro-allied group, LCCI, Kola Aderibigbe, told Punch that the creation of the Ministry of Livestock Development was a welcome idea, but farmers wanted to see a plan about how the ministry would address the food insecurity in Nigeria.

 

Aderibigbe said, "(The ministry) will add to the dairy farm industry and create more opportunities. But we need to see what is in the pipeline for the ministry."

 

He noted that farmers still suffered from insecurity and that their desire was for the ministry to provide a means to allow farmers to return to their farms and begin producing food.

 

However, the chairman expressed concern about the heightened cost of integrated farmers dealing with the Livestock Development Ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture.

 

"What about integrated farming? Some people integrate their crop farms with livestock," Aderibigbe said. "That means you will have to deal with two agencies, which will cause confusion and certifications will become costly."

 

Aderibigbe was also concerned about the solution the Ministry of Livestock Development would bring to the farmer-herder clashes that have prevented many farmers from optimally using their farmlands.

 

He added that Nigeria's multi-billion dollar dairy farming industry could be properly harnessed with modern ranching practices.

 

The president of CODARAN, Alhaji Muhammadu Abubakar, said it would take more than a department in the Ministry of Agriculture to realise the potential of dairy farming alongside other outputs of livestock farming.

 

He stated that the vision of the Dairy Ranchers Association was to meet national demand for dairy products, thus cutting down on the country's reliance on imports.

 

"Meeting the national demand (for dairy products) and stopping imports would take years before the excess would be imported," Abubakar said. "There is a real need for a ministry to drive this."

 

- Punch