The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Muktar Maiha, wants livestock farmers and processors to borrow at single-digit interest rates with at least 10 years to repay. He made the call during a visit to the ABIS Ultra Modern Livestock Processing Factory in Lekki, Lagos, The Guardian reported on 29 September 2026.
"We need pension capital. We need single digits. We need long-term repayment. At least minimum 10 years," Maiha said. He said the ministry would work with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria on the terms.
What Borrowers Pay Now
Current agricultural loans fall well short of that. Ranching and feedlot operators borrow at 16% to 20% with three to four years to repay, while abattoirs pay 25%, The Guardian reported. Cattle take years to raise, so a loan that must be cleared in three or four years puts pressure on producers before their herds pay back.
The wider market is harsher still. At a separate forum, experts told Vanguard on 24 September that commercial lending rates of 30% to 35% are incompatible with livestock production cycles.
A Lagos Processor at Scale
The ABIS facility processes 250 cows a day. Its chairman and founder, Emmanuel Usman Nelson, hosted the minister, and the company says it has created jobs for hundreds of young people and disadvantaged women over five years. Lagos consumes large volumes of beef but raises few cattle of its own, so processing capacity close to the city's markets shortens the chain between the ranch and the buyer.
A $32 Billion Opportunity
The sector's potential is large. Experts told Vanguard that livestock could contribute $32 billion to Nigeria's GDP within 10 years. Dr. Muda Yusuf, Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, said: "Attracting substantial private capital into livestock production will require deliberate government action to address the sector's structural constraints."
Dr. Salim Umar, Chairman of the Farmers and Herders Initiative for Peace and Development, added: "Government should make attractive incentives and support investors to open this sector properly." The experts listed secure land, water, reliable power, cold-chain facilities and concessionary finance as the conditions investors need.
FoodPrices Nigeria will watch whether cheaper, longer-term credit for ranchers and processors feeds through to the price of beef in Lagos markets.