Concerned stakeholders in the agriculture, environmental, and public health sectors have cautioned Nigeria against rushing into large-scale industrial animal farming investments without critically assessing their long-term implications.
This call was made during a stakeholders’ workshop on the Implications of Industrial Animal Farming in Nigeria, held in Abuja, where participants warned that multinational agribusiness giant, JBS the world’s largest meat processing company based in Brazil is planning to establish six large scale meat processing plants in Nigeria at an estimated cost of $2.5 billion.
Speakers at the forum stressed that while such investments may appear to address food insecurity and create jobs, they come with serious risks to public health, environmental sustainability, food sovereignty, and the livelihoods of local farmers.
Director of Programmes at Health and Motherhood Foundation, Joyce Brown, explained that industrial farming practices often rely heavily on antibiotics, which could accelerate antimicrobial resistance in humans and compromise public health.
She also said there must be adequate environmental and social impact assessments before such projects commence, warning that “food insecurity should not be solved at the expense of Nigerians’ health and environment.”
Echoing her concerns, the Deputy Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Maryanne Bassey-Olsson,, highlighted JBS’s global track record of environmental and human rights violations.
She questioned whether the Nigerian government had conducted due diligence, engaged communities, or assessed how the company’s operations would affect smallholder farmers.
“We are not anti-investment,” she said. “We are simply demanding accountability. Nigerians have a right to safe food, a healthy environment, and protection from exploitative practices that could undermine generations to come.”
According to Bassey-Olsson, factory farming globally has been linked to animal abuse, land displacement, water pollution, and unsafe meat products.
She warned that the entry of JBS could destabilize Nigeria’s agricultural economy by sidelining small-scale farmers who currently produce more than 70% of the nation’s food.
Africa Director for World Animal Protection, Tennyson Williams drew attention to the climate crisis dimension of industrial animal farming. He noted that JBS was responsible for an estimated 421 million tonnes of carbon emissions in 2021 – more than an entire country such as Italy.
“JBS presents itself as a solution to food insecurity, but at what cost?” Williams asked. “Nigeria must not repeat the mistakes made in the oil sector, where foreign companies created jobs but left behind decades of pollution and displacement.”
He also raised alarm over JBS’s reported role as a major sponsor of COP30, the UN Climate Conference scheduled to hold later this year in Brazil, suggesting that the company was seeking to shape global climate negotiations in its favor.
Williams said: “For citizens, the message was clear: ask critical questions, demand accountability, and insist on food systems that put health, environment, and sovereignty first.
“Food security must not come at the cost of sovereignty, Nigerians must decide what food systems they want, not have them imposed by powerful corporations”.
Participants at the workshop urged the Nigerian government to: Ensure thorough Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) before approving JBS’s entry; Involve local communities and farmers in all decision-making processes; Prioritize investment in smallholder farming systems and agroecology to strengthen food sovereignty; Demand transparency and accountability from multinational corporations operating in Nigeria.
