The Federal Government has said in the next ten years the contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from the livestock industry may reach $94 billion.
The industry according to the government is currently contributing over $32 billion to the nation’s GDP, with great impact on national food security, job creation, and rural income generation.
The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, speaking at the Policy Dialogue Workshop for the Valuation of PRISMA Project Results in the Regional Agricultural Priorities of West Africa and the Sahel, organised by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)’s Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (ARAA) on Thursday in Abuja, said that Nigeria’s strategic plan for the livestock sector in the next ten years aims to increase its GDP contribution from the current $32 billion to between $74 billion and $94 billion.
The Minister, who was represented by the Director, Technical Office of the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, Mr. Peter Alike, stated that the government recognises livestock as a national imperative that cannot be ignored.
He noted that the creation of a dedicated Ministry of Livestock Development by President Bola Tinubu reflects government’s deliberate action towards strengthening the livestock sub-sector and driving national development.
He stated the importance of collaboration between Nigeria, ECOWAS, and other regional actors in achieving shared agricultural and food security goals.
He said: “I have told you already that we have a strategic plan which is going to run from 2025 to 2030. And we have a basket of livestock contribution to GDP which is currently about $32 billion.
“And our mission is, in the next 10 years, we want to take, there is a baseline, a base anticipation of $74 billion and then of course a high expectation of about $94 billion.
“We believe that if you actually look at the entire valuation of livestock in Nigeria here today, we are far even in excess of that.
“In Nigeria, we have over 50 million cattle in the hands of rural dwellers, and these are animals that must be fed. So, for us, feed and indeed food is a national imperative that we cannot even live for tomorrow. It is indeed an emergency because the tangential effect of not being able to provide the necessary feed and food for our animals has a direct effect on our very existence, rural livelihood, and human peace. So, for us, it is a matter of survival.
“This is the time for three things to be done. The first thing to be done is collaboration. The second thing to be done is collaboration. And the third thing to be done is collaboration. This is the time that we need each other the most.”
He cautioned against allowing the PRISMA policy dialogue to become just another routine event without tangible outcomes.
He however cautioned against excluding Nigeria in regional projects.
He said: “We don’t want this to end up as one of those workshops because it doesn’t make sense,” that the ministry is fully committed to ensuring that discussions translate into real progress for livestock development across Nigeria and the ECOWAS region.
He noted that: “If you have a project of this magnitude and you exclude Nigeria, then you are not likely to succeed. Especially, I don’t know of any other country in West Africa and the Sahel that has a dedicated Ministry of Livestock Development.”
On his part, the Acting Executive Director of the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (ARAA), Mr. Konlani Kanfitin, reaffirmed ECOWAS’ commitment to advancing livestock development and research collaboration in the region.
He expressed appreciation to the European Union (EU) and the Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECID) for co-financing the PRISMA Project (Research and Innovation for Productive, Resilient, and Healthy Agro-Pastoral Systems in West Africa), which promotes climate-adapted, research-based innovations in the livestock sector.
He said the PRISMA Project aligns with ECOWAS’ regional agricultural policy (ECOWAP), which seeks to transform agricultural and food systems across the region.
Kanfitin emphasised the importance of policy dialogue as a lever for coherence, strategic orientation, participatory governance, and regional integration.
He said: “The livestock sector occupies a central place in the economies of our member states. It contributes to food security, job creation, and the income of millions of rural households.
“This policy dialogue workshop constitutes a key moment for reflection and collective action; it is intended as a space for discussions and decision-making to improve the policy environment for research and innovation to increase the productivity and resilience of agro-pastoral systems in West Africa and the Sahel,” he noted.
In his remarks, Agricultural Engineer and PRISMA Researcher, Dr. Fernando Escribano, highlighted the project’s focus on tackling aflatoxins in livestock feed.
He described aflatoxins as metabolic byproducts of fungi and bacteria that can grow in the field and during storage when high moisture and temperature conditions allow, stressing the need for standard methods to control their presence in livestock feed.
“This is the scenario that we had when we started this project. We decided to focus because aflatoxins don’t have borders. Environmental impact doesn’t have borders. So, we decided to go with a harmonization exercise. We need to harmonize and define what is equality,” Dr. Escribano explained.
“We need to avoid the presence of aflatoxins in our feeds. We need to know how to sample to detect aflatoxins. We need to know how to measure aflatoxins in a relatively simple way, but in a way that we all agree to be done,” he added.
The PRISMA policy dialogue workshop was organized under the framework of ECOWAS’s regional agricultural policy (ECOWAP) and hosted in Abuja, Nigeria, with active participation and support from the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development.
The event was co-financed and technically supported by the European Union (EU), the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Luxembourg Cooperation, Belgian Cooperation, and Spanish Cooperation, highlighting a strong partnership between regional bodies, national authorities, and international development partners.
