The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Qatar are on the verge of importing fodders (grasses, straws, hays) from Nigeria for the feeding of their livestock, Idi Maiha, Minister of Livestock Growth have stated.
The minister disclosed this in Ilorin, Kwara State, throughout an interplay with stakeholders on the alternatives that abound in livestock enterprise.
Maiha stated Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia are at the moment in talks with offtakers to export grass from Africa’s most populous nation.
“They offer you a worth in {dollars}. I bought grass some years again. Bizarre grass, however there’s a profit from that. Rising grass is one other profitable enterprise, and there are big styles of grasses. These are big alternatives that we are able to start to discover, however it’s a query of consciousness,” he stated.
Nigeria spends a mean of $1.5 billion on dairy imports yearly, Maiha stated, highlighting the hole within the worth chain. “It is because we don’t have enough milk. Our cows produce about 23 litres of milk every per day, whereas their counterparts elsewhere do between 25 and 40 litres per day.”
With over 58 million cattle, 124 million goats, 70 million sheep, 13.33 million pigs, and 410,000 donkeys, in accordance with the Nationwide Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria has no motive spending cash on livestock imports.
Maiha famous that, “it now took anyone after Nigeria’s 64 years of independence to understand the injury now we have been doing to ourselves by not mainstreaming livestock manufacturing.”
He stated the nation has the whole lot it must grow to be enough in livestock manufacturing. For him, it’s only in livestock that “you’ll be able to harvest every single day.”
“It has the bottom threat to the agricultural ecosystem. Nigeria’s inhabitants is an asset for livestock growth. Subsequently, if you wish to go into enterprise, take into consideration meals, assume livestock, as meals has no various,” he stated.
In response to Maiha, the federal government is actively working to develop the livestock sector, higher handle illness outbreaks in animals, and supply an appropriate surroundings for grass and fish manufacturing.
