Agribusiness stakeholders have commended the Federal Government’s proposal to create the Ministry of Livestock Development in the country.
The stakeholders gave the commendation in separate reactions on Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Abuja.
President Bola Tinubu had on July 9 inaugurated the Committee on Implementation of Livestock Reforms to address obstacles to agricultural productivity.
The proposed ministry is expected to further explore potential in the livestock sector as well as end the perennial clashes between pastoralists and farmers in Nigeria.
The president appointed the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, as Co-Chairman of the committee.
Tinubu said the livestock reform would open up new opportunities to benefit farmers, herders, processors and distributors in the livestock-farming value chain.
Tinubu had emphasised that the implementation of the reforms would require the collective efforts of members of the committee, drawn from the public and private sectors, state governors and all Nigerians.
The stakeholders, in their reactions to the new plan, said that it was a welcome development to have a ministry that would address herder-farmer clashes in the country.
Prof. Simon Irtwange, National President, Yam Farmers and Marketers Association of Nigeria, applauded the move by the Federal Government, saying it was good that attention was given to the livestock sector.
He said the livestock sector had a huge economic potential if properly explored and harnessed.
According to Irtwange, the sector has been neglected for a long time.
“It is a good thing that attention has been given to that aspect (livestock sector) of the agricultural sector; to me it is a welcome development,” he said.
Mr Ayuba Rano, National Organising Secretary, Amalgamated Union of Foodstuffs and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria, said the proposed ministry was a good development.
He said that the plan to have a livestock ministry would bolster the economy as well as ease of doing business in the livestock sub sector.
Mr Femi Oke, South West Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Lagos, said the suggestion to create livestock ministry was a welcome development.
“This is a welcome development; we farmers are happy; it is a joy to us farmers,” he said.
Mr Joseph Abu, the Organising Secretary, Paw Paw Growers and Processors Association of Nigeria, said the plan to create a livestock ministry was a good idea as it would be beneficial to farmers and other stakeholders in the livestock value chain.
By Doris Esa
