Business
Gov Urges Investment In Livestock To Stem Poverty
Kaduna State Government has urged Veterinary Practitioners to intensify efforts to revive the neglected livestock sector that is dominantly rural based.
Governor Nasiru El-Rufai disclosed this at the opening of the 2018 Professional Continuing Education Seminar of the Veterinary Council of Nigeria, Northern Zone, in Kaduna.
The governor, who was represented by the State Commissioner for Agriculture and Forestry, Dr Daniel Manzo-Maigari, blamed the current poverty level among Nigerians on neglect of the rural economy, which is dominantly livestock based.
He said the rural economy of the nation lies in the livestock sector, alongside farming.
El-Rufai noted that the neglect of rural economy had contributed to the poverty level among the rural people, who form larger per cent of Nigerians.
According to him, the veterinary practitioners contributed to the failed rural economy, due to activities of quacks among the practitioners.
He said the non-application of proper knowledge of practitioners in supporting the growth of the livestock sub-sector resulted in poor output of livestock products.
“If we are able to update our knowledge in the veterinary profession, we will serve the people better and the sector will grow faster by attracting investments.
“There is little or no good investment in the meat sector, which is in excess of N50 billion revenue annually, in addition to poultry and its products.
“The biggest challenge is poor sanitation, and as we all know, over 60 per cent of diseases that affect humans come from animals and their products,” he said.
El-Rufai said the situation had also contributed to poor flow of private capital into the state and the country, in general.
According to him, the State Government had established livestock and animal products law, to regulate the sector and address sanitary challenges in processing of animal products in the state.
He said the standardisation of the sector to meet global market would attract private investment and the state would soon commence exporting animal products.
The Governor said the State Government had bonded all its veterinary students and are placed on salary in addition to steady employment upon graduation.
He added that the State Government is working to support the practitioners and to boost the rural economy, while attracting direct investment into the state.
Earlier, the president, Veterinary Council of Nigeria, Prof Garba Sharubutu said the event was organised annually to update practitioners with new skills for better service delivery in the livestock sector.
Sharubutu said new skills would address the challenges facing the livestock sector and issues of food security and output.
He added that the participants at the one-day seminar, over 400 of them, are expected to deliver more efficient services to livestock farmers to effectively grow the rural economy.
A communiqué is expected at the end of the seminar with the theme: “Sustainable Livestock Production in Nigeria for Global Market.”
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has criticised Nigeria’s import ban on 25 categories of goods, claiming that the restrictions limit market access for American exporters.
This is the effect of President Donald Trump’s tariffs introduction on goods entering the United States, with Nigeria facing a 14 per cent duty.
The USTR highlighted the impact of Nigeria’s import ban on various sectors, particularly agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
The restrictions affect items such as beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and alcoholic beverages, which the United States sees as significant barriers to trade.
The agency argues that these limitations reduce export opportunities for United States businesses and lead to lost revenue.
“Nigeria’s import ban on 25 different product categories impacts United States exporters, particularly in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
“Restrictions on items like beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and spirits limit United States market access and reduce export opportunities.
“These policies create significant trade barriers that lead to lost revenue for United States businesses looking to expand in the Nigerian market”, the agency said .
In 2016, Nigeria implemented the ban on these 25 items as part of efforts to control imports and stimulate local production.
Some of the banned items include poultry, pork, refined vegetable oil, sugar, cocoa products, spaghetti, beer, and certain medicines.
On March 26, 2025, the Federal Government also announced plans to halt solar panel imports to encourage local manufacturing as part of its push for clean energy.
A leading agribusiness strategist and digital agriculture expert, Ayo Oluwa Okediji, has sought cooperative-driven investments in sustaining growth of poultry industry in Nigeria.
He said the poultry industry was at a defining moment and requires urgent structural reforms to secure its future and ensure long-term sustainability.
Speaking on the theme, “Strengthening Poultry Farming Through Cooperative Synergy and Strategic Investments”, at the recently concluded Oyo Mega Poultry Workshop 2025 in Ibadan, Okediji called on poultry farmers, cooperative leaders, financial institutions and policy makers to rethink the existing structure of the poultry sector.
He stressed the need to transition from fragmented, individually-driven operations to well-structured, cooperative-led enterprises capable of attracting sustainable financing and securing long-term viability.
He said, “Our poultry sector cannot thrive on individual effort alone. We need to organise ourselves into cooperative clusters, build strong governance systems and position ourselves to attract the level of investment needed to sustain this industry beyond this generation.”
Drawing on lessons from successful global cooperative models such as Rabobank in the Netherlands and Landus Cooperative in the United States, Okediji introduced the FarmClusters Poultry Model, a locally adapted solution developed by Agribusiness Dynamics Technology Limited (AgDyna), a subsidiary of AgroInfoTech Africa.
According to him, the model is currently being piloted in Oyo State in partnership with PANOY Agribusiness Limited and local poultry cooperatives.
The Rivers State Representative of the Nigeria Chambers of Commerce, Mines, Industries and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Erasmus Chukwundah, has urged palm oil farmers to consider hybrid seedlings for planting, if they must break even in palm oil business.
Chukwundah said this recently at the Free Oil Palm Business Climate Smart Best Management Practice/Assistance Training organized by Partnership Initiative In Niger Delta (PIND) for Palm Oil Farmers in Elele, Ikwerre Local Government Area.
The Rivers representative said until palm oil farmers begin to consider such hybrid oil palm seedlings, they may not meet up with the daily increasing demand of palm oil in the market.
According to him, the seedlings produce up to 30 bunches at once that ripen same time.
He said PIND decided to partner with Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria (OPGAN) to ensure that the message was received by the targeted audience.
According to him, palm oil remained a popular choice of industry operators as it could be converted to many other products such as vegetable cooking oil.
He also noted that products such as motor tyers, marine ropes and others are now gotten from the palm tree.
Chukwundah, who is the immediate past Director-General of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Mines, Industries, and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), further warned against use of unrecommended fertilisers in growing oil palms.
He noted that such practices could limit its export value or chances as the foreign marketers have a way of detecting such .
He reiterated the need for organic fertilizers, including poultry droppings, to enable them have a natural palm oil.
“People must reduce physical contact with palm oil production. That is why we are campaigning for hydrolic oil mills. The foreign markets are no longer interested in crude method of palm oil production”, he said.
Meanwhile, one of the farmers, Sonny Didia, who appreciated Chukwundah’s commitment towards the concern of farmers, appealed for an urgent need for loan opportunity with low interest rate in order to enable them beat the target.
King Onunwor