Nigeria Spends $1.7bn Annually On Milk Importation -MACBAN

The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has called for adequate budgetary allocation to boost the livestock economy.
According to The Tide’s source, the National President of the association, Baba Ngelzarma, made the appeal, recently, in Abuja.
Ngelzarma said it is disturbing that the nation spent more than $1.7 billion annually on milk importation due to poor attention given to the livestock sub-sector.
“The aspect of livestock production, marketing, transportation, processing, among others, is left in the hands of the pastoralists; the entire value chain of cattle is not harnessed by the government.
“Nigeria has the largest population of livestock compared with neighbouring countries; yet we produce lesser milk due to neglect of the sector”, he said.
Meanwhile, livestock traders at livestock markets in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have expressed concern over poor patronage.
Alhaji Yunusa Idris, a cattle dealer and an official at the Mararaba Livestock Dealers Market in Karu Local Government Area, said the poor patronage was due to the removal of petrol subsidy policy.
He said the level of patronage was low compared to 2022 when sales were high due to high demands.
Idris said a big cow cost between N450,000 and N550,000 as against N250,000 and N300,000 while a medium-sized cow, formerly sold at N85,000 and N120,000, now cost between N150,000  and N250,000.
He said the prices of ram had equally increased significantly in the FCT.
“Before now, small-sized rams were sold between N60,000 and N100, 000 each while medium-sized rams were sold within the range of N120,000 and N180,000 each.
“The big-sized rams were sold at the range of N200,000 and N300,000 each”, he said.
A butcher at the Mararaba abattoir, Aliyu Maigudi, said butchers in 2022 could slaughter up to a 100 cows a day as against 50 slaughtered currently.
“Customers are few now; we used to have high patronage that is sometimes overwhelming; but now, the market is not as active as before due to low patronage”, he said.
A buyer, Mallam Inuwa Hassan, who complained about the hike in livestock, said the price of ram had also skyrocketed.
He said the smallest ram was now sold for N100, 000 as against N70,000 in N2022, while bigger ones sometimes sold for as high as N250,000 as against N140,000 to N160,000 in 2022.
In another development, some Stakeholders in the Livestock value chain have lamented that the astronomical rise in the prices of Livestock in the country was negatively affecting their business.