JBS to Invest $2.5 bln in Nigeria’s meat Production

… Raises Environmental Concerns

Brazilian meatpacker JBS said on Thursday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Nigeria’s government for a $2.5 billion investment plan in the African country, including the building of six new factories.

In a statement, JBS said three of the factories would deal in poultry, two in beef and one in pork.

Based on the memorandum of understanding, JBS said it will build up a five-year investment plan in Nigeria, including feasibility studies, budget estimates and an action plan for local supply chain development.

The government of Nigeria, in turn, would ensure the economic, sanitary and regulatory conditions needed for the project’s viability, JBS added.

However ProVeg Nigeria and ProVeg Brazil said in a joint statement the plan by JBS to expand its operations in Africa is counterproductive to ensuring food security on the continent.

“Large-scale, intensive animal agriculture operations lead to heightened biosecurity risks, increased antibiotic resistance, deforestation and climate-damaging emissions.

“This is the completely wrong approach to food production in Africa in the 21st Century and detrimental to food security as it will lead to feed agriculture being prioritized over food production for the people.

“We can feed seven times more people with nutritious, plant-protein rich food than with inefficient animal protein” Hakeem Jimo, Director of ProVeg Nigeria, said.

According to Jimo, the move contradicts the signing, by Nigeria, of a Declaration on food and emissions at the UN climate summit, COP29, last week.

Signatories call on the EU Commission, OECD countries and China to base the cost of food on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, acknowledging that livestock production generates the most GHG emissions responsible for climate change in the global food system.

Director of ProVeg Brazil, Aline Baroni, said, “Intensive animal agriculture operations bring greater risk of zoonotic diseases like bird flu, as well as pollution of waterways from run-off and a damaging effect on nature and biodiversity.
“On top of this, 32% of methane emissions, which is a powerful greenhouse gas, comes from animal agriculture.”

ProVeg advocates for more investment in nutritious, climate-friendly plant-rich diets. Animal agriculture is responsible for up to 20% of carbon emissions and only by shifting to more climate-friendly diets – grains, beans, pulses, fruit, vegetables and alternative proteins – will these emissions be reduced