The Nigerian government says it is working to harness the potentials of the livestock sector in the country for increased job creation and economic growth.
The Minister of Livestock development Mr. Idi Muktar stated this at the 2025 edition of the Ministerial Press Briefing in Abuja Nigeria’s capital.
In his briefing, the Minister said since the creation of the Ministry and his appointment, his team have hit the ground running, by engaging stakeholders in the different aspects of the sector to ensure maximum impact on the country’s economy.
Mr. Muktar disclosed that the livestock sector in Nigeria is valued at 33 trillion Naira which makes it one of the most significant but yet underutilized economic assets in the country.
INCREASED GDP
Mukhtar who laid bare his plans to transform the sector said the target is to increase livestock contribution to the national GDP from 5% to 10% by 2035 while creating millions of jobs and meeting the protein needs of Nigerians.
“Nigeria aims to expand the livestock sector’s GDP contribution from $32 billion to $74 billion by 2035, positioning itself as a key player in both domestic and international markets for animal protein, similar to leading producers like Brazil, Argentina, and the United States”.
He disclosed that the ministry is working to improve the genetics of the country’s livestock while also establishing a gene bank to preserve the country’s local breeds.
“We are embarking on a massive genetic upgrade.
We are going to do this, however, in a very, very methodical manner.But we are also going to generously guard our indigenous genetics.
We are already talking with the Institutions of Learning in this country to create a gene bank where we can store all our local indigenous genetics, because they have been produced here.
They are resilient, they are adaptive, they are resistant to diseases, and therefore, we don’t want to push them away”.
RESTORING GRAZING ROUTE
On grazing, the minister said the ministry has taken inventory of about 417 gazette and ungarzetted grazing lands running into 5 million hectares across the country.
“In fact, we have got in the inventory of all the grazing reserves in the country, both gazetted and ungazetted, running to about 417. Totaling more than 5 million hectares of land. So we are going to focus our attention on those grazing reserves that are going to receive necessary infrastructure to receive the national heart”.
“What I mean by national heart, all farmable animals will one day be settled in those grazing reserves where there will be sufficient infrastructure in terms of feed and fodder, water resources, infrastructure for the adults’ families, schools, veterinary clinics, etc”.
While calling on investors to join hands with the government to tap into the immeasurable potentials of the livestock sector, Mr. Muktar said Nigeria needs to sanitise the sector by exploring the untapped areas of the sector, such as hides and skin, packaging, bone processing and the entire value chain.
Oyenike Oyeniyi
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