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Tag: livestock

  • Expert seeks improved livestock production

    A Professor of Forage Agronomy and Utilisation  Olufemi Onifade, has explained what the country should do to increase local production of meat, milk, mutton, veal, hides, skin and other exports.

    According to Onifade, the animals producing these products should be adequately fed and well taken care of, to increase the quantity and quality of the citizens’ animal protein intake and generate income for youths.

    Onifade made the disclosure while delivering the 53rd Inaugural Lecture of the University titled, “Grasses: Production and Management for Sustainable Livestock Industry”, where he enumerated the importance of forage in the stabilisation of soil, serving as cover crop for erosion control, usage as pesticide, feed for ruminants and non-ruminants, medical and recreational activities, among others. Onifade, who is of the Department of Pasture and Range Management, College of Animal Science and Livestock Production (COLANIM), observed that forage evaluation started long time ago in Nigeria, particularly in Northern Nigeria, where forage species were first evaluated in 1935, which led to the need to focus on pasture, grassland management and to establish more cooperation between livestock and traditional farmers.

    He noted that between 1956 and 1961, about 271 pasture species were evaluated at various centers in sub-humid zone and at the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI).

    He added that the livestock industry had contributed tremendously to national economy as the population of ruminant livestock in Nigeria, as at 2013, was estimated at 40,834,000 goats, 19,590,000 sheep and 16,286,000 cattle, adding that agricultural contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 22 per cent, out of which livestock was 30 per cent. He said that many established pastures were not doing well and failed to last long, while calling for proper planning, identifying fertilizer needs, using of quality seed, land preparation, proper sowing method and proper management of weeds.

  • World Bank’s $350m for mining, livestock revival coming

    World Bank’s $350m for mining, livestock revival coming

    The World Bank is injecting $350million into Nigeria’s mining and agricultural sector to revitalise its livestock sub-sector.

    While $200million will go into livestock sector resuscitation, the balance of $150million credit will be used used to help increase the mining sector’s contribution to the  economy.

    World Bank FADAMA Team Leader, Dr Adetunji Oredipe, who spoke in Abuja yesterday, said the global lender was working with the Federal Government to formulate the intervention policy, adding that discussions with the government’s team on the modalities for the project execution had also started.

    Oredipe said essentially, the bank would revive the livestock sub-sector with critical intervention in the areas of productivity and access to markets.

    “Productivity depends on a number of factors as it concerns the feeds which are very critical; the major problem of livestock production in the country is dearth of high-quality animal feeds, as the feeds determine what you get from your livestock.

    “World Bank is also looking at critical health aspects of the livestock industry, the veterinary aspects, as we are merging it with the surveillance,’’ he said.

    Speaking on the mining sector financial lifeline,  Senior Communication Officer of the bank, Ms Olufunke Olufon said the project would help to establish a strong foundation for mining sector development in the country.

    She said the credit would also enhance competitiveness by improving information infrastructure and knowledge of mining, adding that it would equally help in strengthening key government institutions and foster domestic investments in the sector.

    domestic investments in the sector.

    She said: “The project will help develop measures for formalising; regulating and inventorying artisan and small-scale mining; facilitate the flow of mineral transactions and facilitate access to finance.

    “It will facilitate access to technology and equipment; increase knowledge and support the mining and processing of the minerals in accordance with best practices.’”

    According to her, environmental and social protection will  also be enhanced by the credit line.

    Olufon said the expected results include the ability to attract and develop mineral transactions on medium and large mining operations and any other mining related investments.

    The  World Bank Country Director, Rachid Benmessaoudm was quoted to have said:“Nigeria has a favourable geological potential.

    “The potential is such that if adequately assessed, well exploited and managed in a sustainable manner, can support broader economic growth through mineral sector.’’

    Benmessaoudm said one of the key objectives of the project was to support Nigerian government’s priority to diversify the economy to a broader range of non-oil productive sectors.

    “The support will include the realisation of the full mineral endowment for sector policy, promotion, conducive business environment and integrated long-range resources and investment planning.’’

    He said the Nigeria had been unable to attract significant investment in exploration and mining into the sector.

    The global financial giant said the current productivity from the mining sector was still insufficient to meet local demands particularly for industrial minerals.

    The bank listed the critical binding constraints of the sectors development to include insufficient geo-data and geological knowledge, weak implementation and enforcement of the mining law and regulations.

    Benmessaoudm said that a large poorly regulated and informal artisanal and small-scale mining sub-sector was also one of the critical constraints of the sector.

    Elaborating more on the livestock financial support, Oredipe said there were series of reforms that would facilitate the efforts of livestock owners to change the business environment.

    He said the reform programme would be executed under the Livestock Micro Reforms Project, adding that the bank and government officials were now looking at the policy and business environment, with a view to perfecting them for the intervention.

    Oredipe said the World Bank’s focus on the livestock sub-sector was based on the request of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

    “The administration made it clear that they want the bank to critically look into the livestock sector because not much is going on in that sector,’’ he added.

    He said that the livestock sub-sector accounted for a sizeable part of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), providing income, employment, food, farm energy, manure, fuel and transport.

    Oredipe said that in the past, the livestock sub-sector was a major source of government revenue, adding that government was, therefore, making efforts to restore the lost glory of the sub-sector.

     

  • Transforming cassava leaves into livestock feed

    Transforming cassava leaves into livestock feed

    Efforts are being made to transform cassava leaves and waste into livestock feeds. This will be a big business for farmers, writes Daniel Essiet.

    Cassava is a staple food, which plays a major role in the food system. Its tubers are rich in carbohydrates, calcium and ascorbic acid.

    Today, cassava has multiple uses and markets, ranging from consumption as food to processing into wet and dry starch. It is also processed into higher value food and industrial products, such as noodles, glucose, and maltose to textile starch, pharmaceuticals, cardboard, and glue. Starch extracted from it is used by a wide variety of industries—food, pharmaceutical, paper, adhesive, textile, mining and others.

    In the past four years, the government has tried to ensure cassava flour is substituted for wheat flour in baked products to reduce wheat import.

    Altogether, the market demand for cassava and value-added products are so strong that many Nigerians are  encouraged to grow it as a cash crop. Besides, the  multi-purpose cassava has attracted many projects and programmes working on its value chain. Several organisations are involved in processing to help drive industrial development while delivering higher incomes to smallholder farmers.But its use as a livestock feed has also been investigated. It  can be used as a substitute for feed grains as its leaf meal contains at least 20-percent protein.

    Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) is at the forefront of getting farmers and processors to explore income opportunities from using cassava leaves for livestock feeds.

    Consequently, ARMTI is exploring ways of processing cassava leaves to provide a sustainable source of animal feeds, increase incomes for farmers and boost food security.

    Its Acting Executive Director, Dr Olufemi Oladunni, sees the potential for further scaling-up improved livestock feeds with cassava leaves as huge.

    He believes use of cassava leaves as animal feed can reduce the high cost of feed, increase livestock production and create job opportunities.

    Addressing a seminar on “Unlocking the potentials of cassava leaves as livestock feed” in Abuja, Oladunni said the mission of  ARMTI was  to identify and analyse problems and needs and develop appropriate interventions.

    As such, generating a new feed resource from cassava leaves will lead to a reduction in the spate of conflict between crop farmers and herdsmen.

    One of the projects Oladunni has in the mind to boost this campaign is a feed mill where livestock feed made from cassava leaves could be packaged and sold in markets.

    Right now, there are few or none of such special feed mills across the country.

    Where they exist, they should produce poultry, pig, fish and dog feeds, using  cassava leaves. Promoting the establishments of such mills, Oladunni believes would not only enrich the farmers financially, but will also help other poultry or livestock farmers in accessing feeds at their door step.  ARMTI will be ready to assist  would be investors with training, technical services and advice.

    But the institute  is not alone in this project. The Federal Government is showing support, believing it can help to curb farmers-herdsmen clashes. It has huge potential once there is a functional   cassava leaves value chain geared towards processing such leaves into livestock feeds.

    Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava in the world with a production figure of 50 million metric tonnes. “Cassava is a major food crop in Nigeria. “It is strategically valued for its role in food security, poverty alleviation and a source of raw materials for agro-allied industries in Nigeria with huge potential for export market. “It provides livelihood for over 30 million farmers,’’ the minister said.

    Represented by Dr Egejuru Eze, the Director, Animal Production and Husbandry Services in the ministry, during  the seminar in Abuja, Ogbeh said  the livestock industry had been bedevilled by some practices hence, the clashes.

    He said livestock could increase productivity, including milk yield and body weight, when fed with cassava leaves.

    According to him, cassava leaves have been found to be a good source of crude protein when made into silage.

    Lufarmco Investment Managing Director, Prof. Dolapo Lufadeju  and a consultant to the institute on the project  said Nigeria had not been able to move from pastoralism to domesticating cattle due to lack of feed.

    He said pastoralism had practised all over the world, especially in the United Kingdom, United States, and Russia, adding that it was after such countries had developed their livestock industry into a business that they began to domesticate cattle.

    He said they succeeded because they had all the feed their cattle needed. “Here we don’t have anything on which our cattle are based upon and development is fast catching up with the system of pastoralism. That is the reason for the conflict between farmers and herdsmen. What we are looking at is a major cattle industry that needs to be developed as a business. Crop production has advanced, but nothing has happened in terms of development of livestock in this country,’’ he added.

    Lufadeju maintained that cassava leaves could be used  for livestock feeding. His  words: ‘’Cassava hay or cassava leaf meal  have been used as a protein supplement in goats, sheep or cattle fed on poor quality diets have positive effects on animal performance.’’

    The Lufarmco Investment chief explained that one important constraint of cassava leaves for livestock is the  abandonment of the leaves on farmlands after harvest.

    He attributed it to the logistics involved during the collection of the product to obtain sufficient quantities.

    He said the aggregation of cassava leaves from scattered small farms is of  importance. To consolidate the use of cassava leaves, he  urged  the government to put  in place a system to harness all available cassava leaves for value addition.

    He  added: “ This way, cassava leaves would be efficiently integrated into the cassava value chain as livestock feed resource. This is, particularly, important at this juncture. If cassava leaves must be part of the livestock feeding strategy, it must be made available all year round.’’

    Lufadeju added that there was the  constraint of lack of technical knowledge on how to use cassava leaves in livestock feed. He said: “There is also the constraint of lack of knowledge and technical know how required particularly on; frequency of leaf harvest, quantity to be harvested without compromising root yields, the optimal period for harvesting, and the quantity to be fed to cattle , sheep or goat, either as supplement or as complete feed. While information is available in parts of the World especially Southeast Asia ( Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia), there is dearth of emperical research in Nigeria on feeding cassava foliage to ruminant livestock.”

    Meanwhile, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Ibadan has developed a technology to process fresh cassava peels into high-quality cassava peels with better shelf life and nutrient profiles.

    This is the outcome of a multi-centre Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research( CGIAR) collaboration, which involved ILRI, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the International Potato Centre (CIP).

    The cassava peel processing technology began in late 2014. Through it about 50 million tonnes of peels that are being wasted yearly and treated as environmental nuisance will become  livestock feed commodity. It can add about 15 million tonnes of quality feed, creating $2 billion yearly in Africa, and  helping the livestock sector besides other multiple benefits, such as creating employment and incomes for processors, mostly women in the unorganised sector.

    The main factors contributing to the rapid development of this technology are that the processes involved are quite simple, using machinery and techniques that cassava processors are already aware of, and wide dissemination through multiple media and visits of the potential entrepreneurs to the ILRI pilot processing plant at Ibadan.

  • Livestock Feeds to raise N1.1b new equity funds from shareholders

    Livestock Feeds Plc has received the approval of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to raise about N1.1 billion new equity funds from existing shareholders. The proposed supplementary issue of the agro-allied company was approved by the quotation committee of the Exchange last Thursday.

    A regulatory document obtained at the weekend by The Nation indicated that Livestock Feeds plans to undertake a rights issue of 1.0 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at a price of N1.10 per share. The rights issue will be pre-allotted on the basis of one new ordinary share for two ordinary shares already held by the shareholder.

    The rights issue’s price of N1.10 per share represents about 28 per cent increase on the current market value of 86 kobo at the Exchange, raising fears about the attractiveness of the rights issue to the retail shareholders.

    More than half of the rights issue’s funds are expected to be provided by UACN of Nigeria (UACN), which acquired majority equity stake in the agro-allied company in 2013. Recent shareholding analysis showed that UACN holds 51.01 per cent equity stake in Livestock Feeds while First Capital Trust Limited holds the second largest equity stake of 8.02 per cent. Cashcraft Asset Management Limited holds the third largest stake of 5.06 per cent. Sundry minority shareholders hold the balance of 35.9 per cent equity stake.

    Market pundits, however, said the rights issue may provide a window for UACN to restructure the share capital of Livestock Feeds to allow for injection of additional funds and technical competence into the operations of the company.

    Chairman, UAC of Nigeria (UACN) Plc, Mr. Dan Agbor, had told shareholders at the annual general meeting in June that the group decided to retain the larger part of its net earnings in 2015 to ensure that it remained in a position to participate in new equity issues that might be launched by its subsidiaries.

    According to him, the board had recommended total dividend of N1.92 billion for the 2015 business year while being mindful of the need to conserve funds so that the group could participate in the rights issues to be undertaken by three of its subsidiaries, including UACN Property Development Company Plc, Livestock Feeds Plc and Portland Paints & Products Nigeria Plc.

    Incorporated as a limited liability company in March 1963, Livestock Feeds converted to a public limited liability company and was quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 1978.

  • The making of livestock farmers

    The making of livestock farmers

    Keying into Federal Government’s plan to make agriculture major revenue earner in a diversified economy, the lawmaker representing Akoko South East/Akoko South West Federal Constituency of Ondo State in the House of Representatives, Kolawole Babatunde, has partnered with the Ministry of Labour and Productivity to train some of his constituents on livestock production. LEKE AKEREDOLU reports

    As a result of declining oil prices at the international market, the Federal Government is considering the non-oil sector, such as, agriculture as key to make the economy be on the upbeat again.

    President Muhammadu Buhari has said his administration is committed to ensuring that agriculture and other sectors such mining and manufacturing play critical roles in making Nigeria’s economy non-oil based.

    According to the President, the diversification of the economy will be avenue for job creation for millions of unemployed youths.

    Keying into the Federal Government’s resolve to diversify the economy and make agriculture major player in the nation’s economic recovery, over 40 youths from Akoko South East/Akoko South West Federal Constituency of Ondo State have been encouraged to go into livestock production. This was the gesture by the lawmaker representing them at the House of Representatives, Hon. Kolawole Babatunde. The beneficiaries have been trained on how to nurse chickens such as broilers and layers.

    They were also given financial support and necessary materials that would enable them to go into full-scale livestock production.

    At the three days training, held penultimate weekend at Oka-Akoko in Akoko South West Local Government Area, participants were given funds, chicken feeds, vaccines, stoves, automated cages and chickens (both broilers and cockerels) as incentives for their businesses.

    To ensure proper monitoring and success of the training exercise, the lawmaker had to collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity.

    The Coordinator of the programme, Prince Timothy Korede said the lawmaker had introduced the project, which he said was the second phase, to complement government’s effort to tackle youth unemployment as well as engage the youth positively, thereby preventing them from engaging in any form of restiveness in the constituency.

    The lawmaker said he had taken steps to ensure that his constituents, especially the youth, are imbued with skills as a way of enhancing their educational development.

    He noted that he decided to train them on livestock production in his second phase project because he knew how lucrative the business is.

    Babatunde added that he was not just training them alone but he had also empowered them with enough capital to start the business.

    He said: “We promised members of our constituency that we will not just be in Abuja to enjoy alone but also will always return home to give back whatever we are receive for the development of our people’s living standard.

    “The government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by President Buhari has taken agriculture as one of the cardinal development plans of his administration and he is already doing everything possible to achieve that.

    “We lawmakers will not fold our arms and watch. We have to complement efforts of the President in his bid to turn the economy of the country around. The President means well for the nation. He wants to diversify the economy and our youths must be encouraged and empowered to embrace agriculture as a way forward.

    “I have selected over 40 people from my constituency for this project in the second phase and we are plan to encourage more.

    “We are 360 members in the House of Representatives. Assuming each of us encourages 100 people on agriculture in our different constituencies, do you know the number of our people that will be employed through this and do you know the effects this will have on our economy?

    “If some governors are not doing well in agriculture, we lawmakers should ensure that we assist our people.

    “We are not focusing on the unemployed youths alone; we are also assisting our students in various institutions in the country.”.

    The APC chieftain assured his constituents that he would always engender ideas that would add values to their living standard.

    One of the beneficiaries, 32-year-old Abosede Daramola, commended the lawmaker for the gesture, saying he was laying legacies that would forever be in the memories of the people he represents.

    She said: “As a graduate, I have once applied for a loan from the government to start this business but I am yet to see any green light that such demand will be granted.

    “Hon. Kolawole has empowered us and we have also been trained on this business. With this, I believe we are now fully prepared to start the business. We will also train other members of our constituency who have interest in the business.”

    Another beneficiary, Makinwa Ogunlade described Kolawole as a man with brilliant ideas and who also had vision to reduce poverty among his people.

    Ogunlade said: “I am also moved with the way the participants were selected. He has been fair to all parties unlike some lawmakers who will only empower members of their political parties.”

     

  • Expert seeks funding to reduce livestock, crop diseases

    Deputy Director-General, General Management, Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin, Kwara State, Dr Ademola Adeyemo, has urged the government to increase funding of beneficial management practices (BMPs) in the agric industry to help reduce the risk of spreading crop and livestock diseases between  farms.

    The spread of livestock diseases such as avian flu has caused millions of naira of losses to farmers and economies in years.

    According to him, stronger measures are needed to monitor, prevent, and control disease to boost food security, and make it safer to trade livestock and livestock products.

    Livestock accounts for a significant portion of the nation’s agricultural gross domestic product.

    However, animal diseases have been spreading quickly in recent years within the country.

    Concerns are also rising about the spread of infectious diseases from animals to humans.

    He urged for a better surveillance information system to issue regular animal health reports and for support for public and private sector agencies to expand their expertise in disease diagnosis, surveillance, reporting and investigation of disease outbreaks.

    According to him, farmers need to be empowered to continually improving their operations and putting best management practices into place.

    This, he maintained, would ensure the long-term health and economic strength of the industry. After the bird flu attacks, he stressed the need to strengthen the surveillance and monitoring mechanism to reduce the spread of diseases between farms.

    Improved funding, according to him, will help farmers and agribusinesses better protect the businesses and ensure strong measures are in place to for the entire industry.

  • ‘Why we need livestock insurance’

    A former Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Prof Abiodun Adeloye, said a functional livestock insurance scheme will protect farmers and their assets after disasters.

    He said agriculture is a risky business exposed to volatile production and commodity prices, and ensuring a sustainable food supply for the growing population is one of the biggest global challenges today.

    However, this huge livestock industry faces a number of potential threats including floods, fires, epidemics and unavailability of fodder. Moreover, there are no customised insurance product offerings to suit the diverse needs of farmers across the industry

    He said livestock insurance will help farmers reduce their losses in crop and livestock production.

    According to him, there is need to help livestock producers limit losses in coming years.

    Some of the risks that livestock farmers face that can be insured include mortality, uncontrollable pest and disease or epidemics, snake bites, theft, natural hazards such as fire, lightening and floods among others.

    Such insurance programmes, according to him, would  insure against loss of revenue and  loss of animals. These risks, according to him,discourage a lot of people from undertaking farming.

    He said they can face such risks with protection from insurance.

    According to him, it is important for farmers to arrange appropriate insurance for their livestock.

    With a functional livestock policy, he said farmers will be encouraged to cultivate a culture of insuring their live stock. Under livestock insurance, farmers may insure their cattle, goats, sheep and camels.

  • Don seeks relief package for livestock industry

    As the livestock industry faces a critical situation with many farms nearing bankruptcy, a former Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ilorin, Prof Abiodun Adeloye, has called for increased government’s financial support package to save the industry.

    While the cost of animal feed has risen relentlessly, farmers said demand for poultry products has slowed down. As a result, many farmers are virtually bankrupt.

    He said livestock producers were feeling the pinch as prices of corn, soybeans and other livestock feed go higher.

    Livestock feeders are looking at severe losses never before experienced in the livestock sector.

    Adeloye urged the government to help struggling farmers cope with disease outbreaks, falling prices, and lack of resources.

    According to him, there is a need for a tripartite links between livestock farmers, feed suppliers and banks to help the livestock sector solve long-lasting problems such as increased input costs, unstable prices and outlet for their products.

    The livestock sector, mostly consisting of small-scale household farming, outdated techniques and a shortage of investment for farming, has been experiencing a difficult time as farmers struggle to access loans and attempt to conform to environmental protection regulations.

    Adeloye said financial shortages were a major problem for farms.

    He asked the banks to offer farmers loans with preferential interest rates.

    According to him, the livestock industry is critical to the economy because it provides food to Nigerians.

    He said demand for food would increase over the next decade due to population growth and increased business activity.

    He said the need for livestock would rise in keeping with the trend.

  • Cattle rustling: Army recovers livestock in Sokoto forest

    A detachment of the Army in Sokoto State on Sunday recovered 94 cows and six camels at the Gidan Kare Forest in Tureta Local Government Area.

    The military expressed its resolve to tackle cattle rustlers.

    The forest is approximately 30 kilometres south of Tureta town. Also recovered from cattle rustlers, after a gun battle, were hundreds of goats and sheep.

    Our reporter, who, on Monday, visited Tureta, the headquarters of the local government area, learnt that the recovered livestock was “camped” at the Abdulbaki Model Primary School at Tureta.

    The recovered livestock is being guarded by heavily armed soldiers, who are assisted by some vigilantes from the local government area.

    The hoodlums were reportedly “ambushed” when they were conducting a naming ceremony in the forest.

    A source, who spoke in confidence, told our reporter that some of the hoodlums had either been killed or arrested; others were said to have fled during the gun duel.

    None of the soldiers was killed or injured in what the military called a successful operation.

    Military officers at Tureta refused to speak on the incident, saying they had no “orders” to do so.

    The spokesman for 1 Brigade in Sokoto, Capt Umar Shu’aibu said the livestock would be handed over to the “civilian authorities” for the identification of the owners.

    Police spokesman Al-Mustapha Sani confirmed the development.

    He said the command, with other security agencies and the public, were happy with the breakthrough.

    Sani said: “We are happy with this development and efforts will be made to curb the menace of cattle rustling across the state.”

    The police spokesman hailed Northwest governors for the renewed battle against cattle rustling and other related crimes.

    He said: “This development is part of the expected dividends of their collaborative actions.”

     

  • Expert seeks restructuring of livestock industry

    A consultant  to the  World Bank, Prof  Abel Ogunwale,  has urged  the restructuring  of  the  livestock industry in a sustainable and competitive manner that will lead  to economic  growth.

    Ogunwale, who is of Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Ladoke  Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State,  said the industry   needs  a major policy  shift  targeted at small farmers  and those  engaged in commercial livestock agriculture.

    He  urged the  government to  improve access  to fund in order  to  encourage  farmers  to move  from small-scale to large-scale farming. He said favourable government policies were needed to support animal-husbandry enterprises so they can have sufficient capital and engage in technology transfer.

    While there have been focus on improving crop production,  Ogunwale said  the government should  direct its action to  strengthening animal health systems and  the whole livestock value chain. This, according to him, would lead to sustained income of farmers as well as improving general nutrition for animal products.

    He urged the government  to  support  the  livestock and veterinary services to procure vaccines and  enable  farmers access to better  animal health services.

    In the absence of  financial resources and technical expertise, he said the sector has not experienced  growth, while the  operating    condition has  remained challenging  for farmers.

    Farms, he said, should be restructured  so that productivity and quality could be improved.

    He called for support for research in livestock  production that would lead to an improvement in quality and productivity, while increasing the income of farmers.