The Federal Government has earmarked about 33,000 hectares of land in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for livestock settlements as part of efforts to curb cattle movement within Abuja and shift livestock production to a more settled, commercially viable system.
Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja during a ministerial press briefing, fielding questions from journalists.
Maiha said the land, captured in the Abuja Master Plan and located outside the city centre, would provide designated areas where livestock could be raised under improved conditions without competing for space with residents in densely populated parts of the capital.
He said the initiative is part of the Federal Government’s broader livestock transformation programme, focusing on settled production, improved animal genetics, better husbandry practices, and the establishment of Livestock Development Centres across the country.
‘The city is not designed to co-mingle livestock with people,’ Maiha said.
He explained that livestock owners would still be free to conduct their businesses within the city, while their animals would be kept in designated production areas where adequate feed, water, veterinary services, and other facilities would be provided.
The minister said the Federal Government was already engaging the FCT Administration to rehabilitate existing livestock facilities, including the Cow Grazing Reserve, Karshi, Piko, and Kore.
He said improvements had commenced at the Cow Grazing Reserve, where three boreholes and a digital weather station had been provided to enhance livestock production and management.
Maiha added that discussions were ongoing with the FCT authorities to rehabilitate other facilities and integrate them into the government’s proposed settled livestock production system.
The minister said the government was determined to address the practice of moving livestock over long distances in search of pasture and water, describing the system as economically inefficient and detrimental to animal productivity.
According to him, animals that continuously trek long distances expend energy that should ordinarily contribute to weight gain, milk production and other productive purposes.
He described cattle subjected to such movements as ‘athletes’, stressing that the extensive production system was partly responsible for Nigeria’s low livestock productivity.
Maiha said animals were not roaming for the sake of movement but because the existing production system compelled livestock owners to search continuously for feed and water.
He said the government’s preferred model would keep animals within designated production areas where they could access feed, water, veterinary care, breeding services and other essential inputs.
The minister noted that the approach would not only increase meat and milk production but also reduce waste and some of the social and economic challenges associated with uncontrolled livestock movement.
Maiha also identified low genetic potential and poor animal husbandry practices as major constraints on Nigeria’s ability to meet growing demand for meat, milk and eggs.
He said indigenous livestock breeds were not necessarily inferior but had not undergone the systematic genetic improvement required to substantially increase their productivity.
According to him, some indigenous cattle require several years to reach marketable weight, whereas genetically improved breeds can achieve considerably higher weights in a shorter period.
He also highlighted the disparity in milk production, noting that many indigenous cows produce between 1.2 and two litres of milk daily, compared with significantly higher yields obtainable from improved dairy breeds.
‘The rate of growth matters a lot. Serviceability matters a lot,’ Maiha said.
He said genetic improvement, better feeding and modern animal husbandry would therefore be critical components of the Federal Government’s livestock development programme.
Maiha said the creation of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development in July 2024 had begun to trigger institutional reforms at the state level.
Only three states, he said, had dedicated ministries or agencies responsible for livestock when the ministry was established, but the number has since increased to 20 states.
He said this development would strengthen collaboration between federal and state governments in implementing livestock policies and attracting investment into the sector.
The minister, however, cautioned that transforming a sector that had operated largely through traditional systems for decades would take time.
‘It’s a gradual process,’ he said, adding that the impact of the reforms should not be assessed solely on immediate outcomes.
Under the emerging framework, the Federal Government would provide policy direction, technical and animal health standards, traceability systems, data infrastructure, investor facilitation and regulatory coordination.
State governments would be expected to provide suitable land and local infrastructure, undertake community engagement and security coordination, and mobilise livestock producers.
Private investors and producer organisations would, in turn, finance and operate commercial activities across livestock value chains.
Maiha said the proposed Livestock Development Centres would serve as commercially oriented production clusters rather than government-owned farms.
The centres are expected to accommodate investments in breeding, feed and fodder production, cattle finishing, dairy production and chilling, sheep and goat fattening, poultry production, pig breeding, feedlots, modern abattoirs and meat processing.
Other opportunities include cold-chain facilities, logistics, biogas and organic fertiliser production, and hides, skins and leather processing.
He said states would be encouraged to develop livestock industries based on their comparative advantages, available feed and water resources, agro-ecological conditions, producer populations, and market demand, rather than adopting a uniform model.
For cattle and dairy production, investment opportunities would include irrigated fodder, hay and silage production, feedlots, breeding and artificial insemination, milk collection and chilling, abattoirs and meat packaging.
The poultry value chain would encompass hatcheries, breeder farms, feed mills, broiler and layer clusters, vaccination and laboratory services, egg grading and packaging, processing and cold-chain facilities.
Similar investment opportunities would be developed for sheep and goats, pigs and micro-livestock, including rabbits, grass cutters, snails and bees.
Maiha said the reforms were aligned with the National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy (NL-GAS), which seeks to raise the livestock sector’s contribution to the Nigerian economy from about $32 billion to at least $74 billion by 2035.
The minister said the reforms would also reduce the economic and security risks associated with transporting live animals over long distances from major livestock-producing areas to consumer markets.
He noted that although a significant proportion of the country’s livestock population is concentrated in the North, major markets are located elsewhere, resulting in animals travelling more than 1,000 kilometres.
Maiha said developing livestock production, processing and marketing infrastructure across states would reduce dependence on long-distance movement of live animals.
He said the combination of settled livestock production, improved genetics, adequate feed and water, animal health services, processing infrastructure and private-sector investment would enable Nigeria to produce more meat, milk and eggs while creating jobs and strengthening rural economies.
Meanwhile, the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), Vom, presented awards to Maiha and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Chinyere Ijomah Akujobi, in recognition of their contributions to developing the livestock sector.
The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of NVRI, Dr Yakubu Gunya Dashe, presented the awards alongside institute officials.
The institute recognised Maiha for service delivery, while Akujobi was honoured for her leadership and supportive role in advancing the ministry’s mandate.
The recognition highlighted the importance of collaboration among government institutions, veterinary research organisations, livestock producers and private investors in building a modern and productive livestock industry.