Experts are pushing for a dynamic livestock industry that will boost meat and milk production, DANIEL ESSIET reports.
Nigeria consumes an estimated 1.7 million tonnes of milk yearly, but produces only 34 per cent to meet demand. The over one million tonnes deficit is imported, and this costs $480.3 million (N173.3 billion).
Although the dairy represents an important segment of the agric sector, and is the second largest in the country’s food and beverage industry, the belief is that the government has failed to match words with action in positioning it as a viable alternative means of national livelihood after the disastrous experience with crude oil.
In recent years, the government has prioritised the transformation of the agric sector, yet the absence of a livestock roadmap has hindered implementation.
While most livestock in Nigeria are local breeds, research showed that if adequately fed, they can produce 10 times more milk than they are producing now.
To increase production, experts said putting into action a livestock industry development plan could pave the way for improved cattle production that will double the dairy production of small-scale farmers and herders.
Beyond the direct impact on the rural people’s livelihood, they said transformation of the sector has the potential to lower foods prices to the benefit of consumers and generate foreign exchange through increased exports.
According to them, successful livestock industry is also critical to the achievement of food and nutrition security at household, sectorial and national levels.
One of the experts is the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nigerian Institute of Animal Science (NIAS), Professor Eustace Iyayi.
Despite the government focus on agriculture, he said, the livestock sub-sector has not responded to evolving market demands, with both processors and farmers facing challenges on many fronts.
He said, for instance, that livestock farmers are under immense income pressure from increased costs and severe weather conditions all year round.
Other challenges include maintaining beef as a premium product, in the context of reduced levels of support, and adressing environmental constraints; poor funding and unacceptably low incomes for farmers. He said the beef sector is particularly exposed and must be fully protected.
Iyayi said the government must keep farming and the agriculture sector at the top of the agenda.
He said NIAS was supporting workshops aimed at encouraging farmers to raise high yielding cows to help them maximise herd’s performance.
In some areas, farmers experience water supply shortages due to non-functioning dams across the country.
An ex other needs on the farm.
The beef industry, according to him, is one of the nation’s industries, but needed to be supported to become a vital part of the agri-food sector.
Kuku stressed the need for the industry to commit itself to continue to promote best practice in food safety and quality, recognising their importance to consumers and the competitive advantage that such practices offer.
He added that a competitive and efficient processing sector is central to maintaining a viable beef industry at both producer and processing levels.
To this end, he said the sector must continue to adapt to evolving market challenges and changing consumer demands. This involves working with suppliers and producers to ensure a constant supply of animals that meet market requirements.
For cattle producers and the wider value chain to fully benefit from increasing demand, Kuku said the industry must be able to sustain consistent supply of product year-round.
He said the beef industry has potential for growth through both sustainable gains in on-farm productivity and adding value across the supply chain.
He stressed the need for a wider range of information and resources on bio-security plans for cattle operators.
A former Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Prof Abiodun Adeloye, said the industry must be supported to produce large quantities of high quality milk and in delivering full product traceability from farm to plate.
He said the sector also needs better feeding, health and livestock management as it has the potential to build a commercial diary sector.
Adeloye called for collaborative efforts to position the industry to capture the benefits that exist in growing demand for premium beef.
He also called on the government to commit to investing in livestock research, development and implementation in the industries, which contribute significantly to the health of the sector.
Adeloye said the sector needs a production system and value chain that meet expectations of stakeholders in the sector.
Beyond the on-farm jobs, he said there are numerous other economic and employment activities along the livestock product supply chain. These include the most basic collection of livestock or products as well as processing of specialty produce such as yogurt.
Ahead of the National Conference on Transformation of the Livestock, in Abuja, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, raised the alarm that Nigeria might, in the near future, suffer scarcity of livestock because of the quantum of cows consumed daily without commensurate calving.
According to the minister, “the way we are consuming cows, slaughtering them is quite alarming. Lagos alone consumes 6,000 cows a day, that’s the figure at abattoirs, not figure from birthday parties and burial ceremonies and so on.
“Imagine what Port Harcourt consumes or Umuahia, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna and Maiduguri. If you add it up, we may be eating up to 80,000 to 90,000 cows a day and we are not calving as many.
“This means a day will come, if West Africans don’t come into Nigeria with their cows, we may find out we have no cattle. So, that’s an economic danger that faces us,” Ogbeh said.