Nigeria used a continental stage to argue that Africa should stop importing animal products it is capable of raising itself. Hosting the 9th All Africa Conference on Animal Agriculture in Abuja under the theme of repositioning animal agriculture for the continent's food security and global competitiveness, President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, said Africa's livestock sector could become a major force behind food security, industrialisation, youth employment and economic growth, according to Legit.ng.
Rich in Herds, Poor in Output
Nigeria's numbers are large. The country holds about 58 million cattle, 120 million goats, 70 million sheep, 14.3 million pigs, 1.3 million donkeys, 400,000 camels and 600 million poultry birds, according to The Sun. Yet stakeholders warned that disease outbreaks, climate change, conflict, poor infrastructure, weak animal-health systems and low productivity were undermining the continent's food security and economic potential, the same report noted. The productivity gap is stark in dairy, where many local cattle yield less than one litre of milk a day against 20 to 30 litres for improved breeds elsewhere, a shortfall that leaves Nigeria with a roughly 60 per cent dairy production deficit and a heavy import bill, according to Dairy Business Africa.
The Reset Plan
The conference, which ran in Abuja, featured more than 140 presentations covering animal breeding and genetics, animal health, nutrition, climate change, biotechnology and the transfer of technology from laboratories to farmers, according to the News Agency of Nigeria. Organisers introduced African Livestock Changemakers Awards to recognise contributions to the sector, Peoples Gazette reported. The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, Dr Chinyere Akujobi, said the gathering underscored the government's commitment to transforming animal agriculture, according to AgroNigeria, while the ministry has developed frameworks including a National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy and a Livestock Master Plan to guide the push, as set out by the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation.
From Talk to Table
The government framed the sector as a strategic economic asset rather than just a source of meat and milk, capable of driving industrialisation, youth employment and regional trade, according to Peoples Gazette. Turning that ambition into cheaper beef, eggs and milk will depend on better breeds, animal health and feed. FoodPrices Nigeria tracks verified retail prices for proteins across Lagos markets, the practical test of whether a livestock reset reaches the shopper.