The Ekiti State government has pledged to harness opportunities in the livestock value chain to promote economic growth and development in the state.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Ebenezer Boluwade, said the administration of Governor Biodun Oyebanji is committed to rebranding and restructuring the state’s livestock sector for greater productivity and economic gains.
He spoke while declaring open a training session in Ado-Ekiti for processors, butchers, and other stakeholders on managing animal waste in abattoirs and slaughterhouses. The training was organised by the State Coordination Office of the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES).
Boluwade said the programme was designed to improve hygiene in slaughterhouses and create wealth from animal waste.
He noted that the project, which targets about 1.3 million beneficiaries nationwide, would strengthen food security and encourage peaceful coexistence in the state.
According to him, ‘It is imperative to put a proper waste management in place in order to maintain a highest level of hygiene as all is now set for the construction of our ultra- modern abattoir to kick start and also construction of 3 mini slaughter slabs are currently on going within the State.
‘I strongly believe that this training will give the participants a better understanding of how to convert some of these wastes like blood, the viscera to feeds, droppings and dungs to manure, etc.
‘All these contribute to balancing the ecosystem and creating wealth out of waste. Your role as livestock farmers is to give value addition to the livestock value chain through good animal husbandry practices and at the same time give a boost to the economy of our State by harnessing the economic values in the livestock sub-sector.’
Speaking, the State L-PRES Project Coordinator, Olayinka Adedipe, represented by the Animal Husbandry Officer, Muyiwa Adelodun, said the training aims to help participants understand modern livestock rearing, processing, and waste management.
He explained that animal wastes such as blood, bones, and fats generated from abattoirs should be properly handled and put to use.
‘Blood constitutes 60 percent of animal wastes, an average cow can have as much as 25 litres of blood. The operation is centralized in Ado where we slaughter at least sixty animals per day imagine the volume of such waste and so the need for this training so it can be properly managed,’ he said.