Tinubu: Neglect of Livestock Has Weighed Heavily on Our Import Bills

*Laments Nigeria spends whopping $1.5bn annually to bring in dairy foods

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu lamented the long neglect of the livestock sector, which he claimed had weighed heavily on Nigeria’s import bill, with milk and dairy products accounting for between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion annually.
But Tinubu expressed delight that foreign investors were ready to take advantage of the country’s huge potentials in the livestock sector.
The president spoke at the opening of a two-day Stakeholders Consultative Workshop on Livestock Reforms, held at the Banquet Hall of State House, Abuja.
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.
Tinubu stated, “The long-term neglect of the livestock sector has weighed heavily on the country’s import bills, with milk and dairy products accounting for $1.2-1.5 billion.

“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.”
He also assured that his administration would create the enabling environment for business to thrive.
He said, “I’m 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’re going to 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 the investment coming into this sector.
“It is about time that we did it right. 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, we didn’t see the economy in the past. Now, we’ve seen it, we must work together to realise the dream.
“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 president added, “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 meat 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!”
Tinubu commended the Presidential Livestock Reform Implementation Committee, led by the Co-Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, and the Secretary, Professor Muhammed Yahaya Kuta, for their commitment to repositioning the livestock sector.
He also applauded the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, “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 didn’t see that opportunity before now. 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.
“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.
“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 realisation of our dream and ambition. I stand before you fully committed to this.”
Tinubu said, “Investors, foreign investors, are already asking questions; how will we collaborate? The committee and 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. The economic opportunity for our children and this we can say God bless Nigeria.”

AbdulRazaq promised the buy-in of governors to ensure that the programme succeeded because of its importance in achieving food security through livestock reforms.
“I want to assure you hundred per cent buy-in of sub-nationals to make this a success. This is not just about food security. It’s also about national security,” the Kwara State governor said.
He stated, “We’ve had several programmes before, like the Ruga programme, 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. We’ve seen that over the years, herdsmen roam 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 belongs 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, who funded free of charge, a sustainable ranching project, which will be based on a ranch that goes back to the first republic.

“In Nigeria, today, we still have a lot of ranch dating back to the First Republic, which are moribund and are not being used, just nobody is using them. Now, this policy also will come up to show how we can develop these ranches.

“So, with the aid from the French government, we’ve developed a policy where we have 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.”

The governor lamented that the country spent billions of naira in importing dairy products.

He stated, “If our herdsmen 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, all over the world, where they have 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 Kaura Namoda to Ota, and by the time they get there, they’re not going to give you any milk. So, this is part of what my understanding is for this reform will happen.”

The governor warned, “If we do not resolve through this reform, the herdsmen issue, 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 State to do ranch, no. 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 be inviting the co-Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, to Kaduna on Monday to come and address the Northern Governor’s Forum to deepen the discussion.”

Earlier, Jega, who recalled that the committee was inaugurated by Tinubu on July 19, 2024, 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.”

He said it would create new business opportunities, generate employment and incomes, particularly for the youth.

Other benefits, according to Jega, are contribution to food and nutrition security and remarkable value addition to the country’s GDP.

He stated, “Significantly, reforming the sector would also help to mitigate the perennial conflicts between farmers and herders, which have bedevilled the sector, with negative consequences for 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 stated, “We have gathered in this room, in addition to our distinguished invited guests, 350 selected and invited critical stakeholders for this workshop.

“Our hope is 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.”