The new Mandate Secretary, Agriculture and Rural Development in the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Mallam Abubakar Ibrahim has set an agenda for farmers by urging them to ensure that the livestock sector ran effectively to meet the increasing demand for beef-cow meat.
The Secretary gave the order during his visit to the Kubwa Abattoir a day after his inauguration as Secretary, Agric and Rural Development secretarial.
Malam Ibrahim said, the directive is in line with the matching order to mandate secretaries by the FCT minister to advance people-centered policies of the administration.
Ibrahim also said that his visit to the Abattoir was to enable him have first-hand assessment of the state of the abattoir which he noted needs to be standardised to operate in line with standards befitting of the status of the federal Capital Territory.
According to him, “we will invest in animal genetics, in artificial insemination and modernise our Abattoirs in the FCT.”
He hinted that the livestock sector constitutes a significant part of the agriculture sector contributing around 1.7 percent to Nigerian Gross Domestic product and about nine per cent to the Agricultural value chain.
He expressed concern over the state of facilities and services at kubwa slaughter slabs.
Ibrahim revealed that he has envisioned proper and modern Abattoir and meat Haulage system.
The Secretary said that this visit was part of effort by the FCTA to ensure the availability of whole some meat for the FCT populace.
He said that the minister of state Dr Ramatu Tijani had expressed concerns over the state of facilities and services at the various slaughter slabs across the FCT.
He told the butchers that “as you are aware the whole world is grappling with the devastating effects of diseases and we can’t afford to expose our people to the risk of the diseases.
“we have to start making changes to ensure that we upgrade our facilities with focus on enforcement and hygienic practices”.
He urged them to take advantage of the expertise in the veterinary services Department to ensure that the aspects of meat inspection disease reporting and control were effectively handled.
He cautioned the slaughter house on the health risks associated with the use of tyres to roast slaughtered animals, urging them to encourage butchers to make use of gas blowers.
In their various responses, the butchers welcomed the initiative by the secretary ensuring that they would do everything within their means to adhere to standard practices in Abattoir operations.
They agreed that the slaughter slabs held great potentials of Job creation through its value chain.
Dominica Nwabufo
