Senator Mohammed Bima Enagi has lauded President Bola Tinubu over his decision to establish the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, even as he posited that investment in livestock could diversify Nigeria’s economy.
Sen Enagi, who represented Niger South in the 9th National Assembly, told journalists in Minna that it was in the realisation of the potential of the livestock sector that he sponsored a Bill on “National Livestock Identification and Management Bureau” for the purposes of livestock identification, registration, traceability, cattle rustling and disease control.
He explained that such an establishment would be a game changer in the quest to harness the potential of the livestock sector and contribute towards diversifying the Nigerian economy.
The senator regretted that the country, having over 40% of the entire cattle population in West Africa and over 150million livestock (cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs), has not been able to participate in the export sector and continued to import meat, skins and other dairy products.
” This has been largely due to lack of right policies, laws, and investment in the sector”, the senator explained.
He said against this background, he sponsored the Bill that went through 1st and 2nd readings, but during the public hearing on the 21st of September 2021, the then Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and its agencies raised some misplaced concerns that halted the progress of the Bill.
The senator, therefore, said it was inspiring and reassuring to see the president’s bold steps to address the longstanding challenges in the livestock sector frontally and promote an efficient and sustainable sector.
“If knowledgeable, experienced and practical people are put to head the ministry, the sector will provide more job opportunities, improve the welfare of livestock farmers, prevent cattle rustling and clashes between farmers and herders, address food safety concerns and animal health, provide international market access, provide a database of animals (from birth to the table) and on the macro level, diversify the economy” he added
Ultimately, the senator explained that the government could generate billions of dollars of revenue if the livestock value chain were properly developed, like in Brazil, the Netherlands, France, and the United States of America.
