Nigeria rallies ECOWAS members over livestock dev’t

The Federal Government has called on ECOWAS Member States to rally together to ensure the development of the livestock sector in the subregion. The Minister of Livestock Development (FMLD), Mr Edi Muktambe, made the call at the opening ceremony of the policy dialogue workshop for the valuation of PRISMA project results in the regional agricultural […]

The Federal Government has called on ECOWAS Member States to rally together to ensure the development of the livestock sector in the subregion.

The Minister of Livestock Development (FMLD), Mr Edi Muktambe, made the call at the opening ceremony of the policy dialogue workshop for the valuation of PRISMA project results in the regional agricultural priorities of West Africa and the Sahel.

The minister, represented by the Director, Technical Office of the Permanent Secretary FMLD, Peter Alike, highlighted the importance attached to the sector by Nigeria, saying that if the sector were well developed, many problems facing the subregion would have been solved.

He said Member States of the ECOWAS and the Sahel would be able to feed their citizens well if the livestock sector was taken more seriously.

“I don’t know of any other country in West Africa and the Sahel that has a dedicated Ministry of Livestock Development, and I don’t know any other ministry in Nigeria that is a Ministry of Development. It is only the Livestock Ministry that is a Ministry of Development.

“And that is deliberate. It is deliberate in the context that the government is aware that livestock production is at a very rudimentary stage and requires development.

“We cannot do it alone. You cannot do it alone. If we hold our hands together, then we will be able to really bring our competitiveness out to increase productivity.”

“I have told you already that we have a strategic plan which is going to run from 2025 to 2030. We have a basket of livestock contribution to GDP, which is currently about $32 billion.

“Our mission is, in the next 10 years, there is a baseline, a base anticipation of $74 billion and then, of course, a high expectation of about $94 billion,” he said.

Speaking also, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Alieu Touray, represented by the Acting Executive Director of the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (ARAA), Mr Konlani Kanfitin, acknowledged that the livestock sector occupies a central place in the economies of member states, adding that it contributes to food security, job creation, and the income of millions of rural households.

Touray said, within the framework of implementing its regional agricultural policy (ECOWAP), ECOWAS works to transform agriculture and food systems in West Africa.

The Research and Innovation Project for Productive, Resilient, and Healthy Agro-Pastoral Systems in West Africa (PRISMA), according to him, has significantly contributed to achieving the ECOWAP objective by contributing to an agroecological transformation adapted to climate change of agro-pastoral systems to make them more productive, resilient, and healthy for animals, humans, and the environment.

“The project has produced several research results and innovations that take into account regional priorities related to value chain productivity and competitiveness, food and nutritional security, youth employment, climate change, and gender.

“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 said.