For years, Nigeria’s livestock industry has languished under the heavy weight of neglect. The vast potential of livestock sector from cattle and goats to poultry, pigs, and dairy has been left to waste away.
The country spends billions of naira each year importing milk, frozen meats, and animal products that should have been produced locally. While many families often struggle to afford protein-rich diets, outbreak of animal diseases often wipe out smallholders’ herds with devastating consequences.
Nigeria treated the livestock sector like a forbidden child with attention on crop farming such as cocoa, groundnut, cassava, and rice, leaving the livestock infrastructures to rot.
The ugly story of neglect runs deep. The veterinary services collapsed, grazing reserves were abandoned, and herders were left to roam in search of pasture, sparking deadly conflicts with farmers. Productivity fell, and the dream of self-sufficiency in dairy and meat drastically faded.
While countries like Kenya, South Africa, and Ethiopia built thriving livestock economies by exporting meat, milk, and hides, Nigeria remains a net importer of livestock products.
However, a silent revolution is unfolding in the rolling farmlands of Ekiti State, a small landlocked state in Southwest Nigeria, with a view to changing the ugly narrative.
Through the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Enhancement Scheme (L-PRES), a World Bank-assisted project implemented in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Ekiti, under Governor Biodun Oyebanji is fast turning what was once an overlooked sector into a cornerstone of agricultural renaissance and economic renewal.
From inception, the Governor Oyebanji’s administration identified agriculture as the backbone of its economic strategy, positioning it, not just as a social policy, but as an engine of economic growth. Livestock, in particular, has been singled out for revival as part of a broader push for food security and prosperity.
His emphasis on self-sufficiency, rural wealth creation, and food security aligns with L-PRES objectives. The state is not merely implementing the project’s goals but also setting the pace, thus, becoming a model for how a neglected sector can be revived as a driver of jobs, wealth, and sustainable food systems.
The livestock transformation unfolding in Ekiti is part of a much broader national agenda. The L-PRES project is being implemented in 20 states including Kogi, Kano, Kaduna, Adamawa, Ondo among others; with the backing of the Federal Government and the funding support of the World Bank.
Designed to address structural problems in Nigeria’s livestock ecosystem such as weak animal health systems, inadequate veterinary infrastructure, low productivity, and reoccurring herders-farmers clashes, L-PRES was envisioned as a major step toward revitalising a forgotten but vital component of the Nigeria’s agricultural economy.
However, while a good number of the 20 state-beneficiaries are still grappling with preliminary activities and non-completion of paperwork due to bureaucratic bottlenecks, lack of political drive or counterpart funding issues, Ekiti has distinguished itself by turning policy into action.
The results are already manifesting in the state. Livestock farmers are gaining access to improved breeds; quality feed systems, and veterinary care. Extension workers are being retrained to provide real-time support, while the value-chain linkages are being formed between rural producers and commercial processors.
‘We’re not treating L-PRES project as just another donor-sponsored project. For us, it’s a strategic platform to commercialise livestock, boost productivity, as well as strengthen the resilience of our farmers. What you are seeing today in Ekiti is the product of that commitment,’ Olayinka Adedipe, the State Project Coordinator said.
The project revolves around three key pillars- commercialisation, productivity, and resilience-building with components covering conflict mitigation, institutional strengthening, livestock enhancement as well as emergency response. To date, over 45,000 livestock farmers have been profiled across poultry, pig, goat, sheep, and dairy value chains.
Hundreds of livestock farmers have also been trained in animal husbandry, artificial insemination, feed formulation and use of crop residues for livestock feed. To deepen the reach of this training, the state has also deployed livestock extension and service providers across all the 16 local governments, with each equipped with motorcycles to reach the remotest communities.
To institutionalise learning, Ekiti has also established three ultra-modern Livestock Farmers’ Schools, one in each senatorial district, located in Ikere, Ado-Ekiti, and Ikole.
‘These schools are more than ordinance classrooms. They are community hubs where modern livestock practices are taught continuously. We bring in experts to step down what we’ve learned from the World Bank and federal partners,’ Adedipe said.
The schools run training sessions on the rudiments of climate-smart livestock production, processing hygiene, and animal disease prevention. Butchers, feed processors, and veterinary aides have also benefited from capacity-building sessions.
The state’s most ambitious intervention is the construction of an ultra-modern abattoir, approved by the World Bank. ‘We’re finalising contracts. This facility will redefine meat processing and end unhygienic slaughtering,’ Adedipe said. The abattoir will feature traceability systems in line with global food safety standards.
Ekiti has also upgraded the veterinary hospital in Ijero-Ekiti with diagnostic equipment and CCTV-based disease surveillance. This year, the state administered 100,000 anthrax vaccine doses, preventing potential outbreaks. ‘We even handled a case of monkey pox swiftly with the Health and Environment ministries. That synergy is saving lives,’ Adedipe added.
While other sub-nationals in the country continue to grapple with farmer-herder headache, Ekiti is addressing the root causes of conflict. Six strategic water points have been constructed across the state to reduce animal migration, with more planned.
The government is also rehabilitating the Irele grazing reserve and plans to establish modern cattle markets in Ado-Ekiti and Omuo-Ekiti, alongside the pig villages and a goat village in Otun-Ekiti, a traditional goat-trading hub.
Under the project, the World Bank has also approved construction of modern commercial poultry houses in different locations, including Ado, Ikole and Emure; for a large-scale production while semi-automated chicken processing plant is underway at the Erifun Livestock Hub to enable Ekiti to process and distribute frozen chicken to Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Abuja.
For Titilope Faseluka, a poultry farmer from Oye-Ekiti, the project has been life-changing. ‘Before this training, I didn’t know how to use crop waste as feed,’ she said, smiling as she checked her birds. Now my production cost has dropped, and my chickens are healthier. I wish this knowledge came years ago’, Joseph added.
Sola Akinyemi, a goat rearer in Ikole-Ekiti shared a similar story. ‘Before now, no one told us about goat diseases or how to feed them properly. We just guessed. But after the training, our goats are healthier and we earn more. I’ve even started teaching my neighbours what I learned.’
Before, I was feeding my goats anyhow,’ said Mrs. Janet Aladesuru, a goat rearer from Otun-Ekiti. ‘But now I know how to mix feed from maize chaff and cassava peel. My animals are fatter, and buyers now come from as far as Ilorin.’
Lydia Omoyajowo, a poultry farmer from Oye-Ekiti, agrees. ‘Before this training, I didn’t know how to turn crop waste into feed. My costs are down and my birds are healthier,’ she said. ‘Now I’m thinking of expanding because demand is rising.’
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The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Ebenezer Boluwade, said the remarkable progress recorded in the livestock value chain would not have been possible without the support of Governor Biodun Oyebanji.
According to him, Governor Oyebanji’s prompt release of counterpart funding and his insistence on transparency have positioned Ekiti State as one of the best-performing states under the World Bank-supported L-PRES programme.
‘Governor Oyebanji’s leadership is the real game changer. He understood from the onset that livestock productivity can drive inclusive growth in rural areas, and he backed that conviction with action through prompt funding, policy direction, and hands-on supervision. That’s why you’re seeing visible positive impacts across communities today.’
He noted that the L-PRES project has significantly boosted farmers’ income, improved animal health and boost food security in the state.
Boluwade emphasized that the Oyebanji administration’s approach to agricultural development in the state is holistic and people-oriented, saying his commitment has been instrumental to the success of the project.
‘We’re not just talking about agriculture; we are seeing results. From the poultry clusters in Ikere-Ekiti and Oye-Ekiti to goat production in Ikole and Otun; the stories are the same. Farmers are smiling again. The governor has given us the political backing to deliver,’ he said.
For the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Ebenezer Ojo, the ongoing livestock revolution in Ekiti is not just a development project but an audacious economic agenda designed to lift rural communities out of poverty.
He explained that the Governor Oyebanji-led administration has mainstreamed livestock nto the state’s agricultural roadmap, saying ‘ Farmers who once struggled to sustain their herds are now running profitable livestock ventures’.
‘That turnaround story is only possible because Governor Oyebanji has been intentional about supporting the project with timely counterpart funding and institutional backing.’
Ojo explained that the project’s success stems from the synergy between the Ekiti state and its development partners, noting that ‘the World Bank provides the framework, but the real results depend on the state’s commitment. Mr Governor has provided that commitment and that’s why Ekiti is excelling.