Livestock farmers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have expressed gratitude to the FCT minister, Barr Nyesom Wike and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ) programme initiative, which was used to distribute bulls to them last year.
They said the new incentives have helped them to increase their productivity and income.
Speaking on their behalf, Taminu Umar of Tabita Fulaku Livestock Cooperative Group during a monitoring and evaluation exercise at Paikon-Kore, praised Wike and the SAPZ project coordinator for their efforts in implementing the initiative, adding that they believe that the scheme would reduce unemployment and insecurity in Nigeria by providing economic opportunities for farmers.
The farmers urged the government to continue such initiatives to improve the living standards of farmers not only in the FCT but across Nigeria. “This sentiment reflects the SAPZ programme’s positive impact on local farmers and its potential to contribute to the country’s economic growth and stability,” he said.
The coordinator of the FCT-SAPZ Project, Dr. Omole Olateju, said the is to assess the performance of cooperative groups that received input support under the FCT SAPZ Project.
He said the exercise was to evaluate the performance of the animals given to the groups, identify challenges faced by them in applying their knowledge, determine the project’s impact on existing production practices, and inform future capacity-building initiatives.
Omole stated that the project is currently being implemented in seven states and the FCT, with each state focusing on the value chain where it has a comparative advantage.
The coordinator hoped the project would be expanded to other grazing reserves and area councils in the FC to increase its impact and visibility.
Also, the livestock development officer, FCT-SAPZ, Usman Vandu, reported that 11 livestock farmers were given the bulls for fattening purposes, each receiving two bulls.
