News
Nigeria Anticipates Contribution of Livestock Industry to GDP in Ten Years to Hit $94 billion
Nigeria Anticipates Contribution of Livestock Industry to GDP in Ten Years to Hit $94 billion
By: Michael Mike
The Federal Government has said in the next ten years the contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from the livestock industry may reach $94 billion.
The industry according to the government is currently contributing over $32 billion to the nation’s GDP, with great impact on national food security, job creation, and rural income generation.
The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, speaking at the Policy Dialogue Workshop for the Valuation of PRISMA Project Results in the Regional Agricultural Priorities of West Africa and the Sahel, organised by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)’s Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (ARAA) on Thursday in Abuja, said that Nigeria’s strategic plan for the livestock sector in the next ten years aims to increase its GDP contribution from the current $32 billion to between $74 billion and $94 billion.
The Minister, who was represented by the
Director, Technical Office of the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, Mr. Peter Alike, stated that
the government recognises livestock as a national imperative that cannot be ignored.
He noted that the creation of a dedicated Ministry of Livestock Development by President Bola Tinubu reflects government’s deliberate action towards strengthening the livestock sub-sector and driving national development.
He stated the importance of collaboration between Nigeria, ECOWAS, and other regional actors in achieving shared agricultural and food security goals.
He said: “I have told you already that we have a strategic plan which is going to run from 2025 to 2030. And we have a basket of livestock contribution to GDP which is currently about $32 billion.
“And our mission is, in the next 10 years, we want to take, there is a baseline, a base anticipation of $74 billion and then of course a high expectation of about $94 billion.
“We believe that if you actually look at the entire valuation of livestock in Nigeria here today, we are far even in excess of that.
“In Nigeria, we have over 50 million cattle in the hands of rural dwellers, and these are animals that must be fed. So, for us, feed and indeed food is a national imperative that we cannot even live for tomorrow. It is indeed an emergency because the tangential effect of not being able to provide the necessary feed and food for our animals has a direct effect on our very existence, rural livelihood, and human peace. So, for us, it is a matter of survival.
“This is the time for three things to be done. The first thing to be done is collaboration. The second thing to be done is collaboration. And the third thing to be done is collaboration. This is the time that we need each other the most.”
He cautioned against allowing the PRISMA policy dialogue to become just another routine event without tangible outcomes.
He however cautioned against excluding Nigeria in regional projects.
He said: “We don’t want this to end up as one of those workshops because it doesn’t make sense,” that the ministry is fully committed to ensuring that discussions translate into real progress for livestock development across Nigeria and the ECOWAS region.
He noted that: “If you have a project of this magnitude and you exclude Nigeria, then you are not likely to succeed. Especially, I don’t know of any other country in West Africa and the Sahel that has a dedicated Ministry of Livestock Development.”
On his part, the Acting Executive Director of the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (ARAA), Mr. Konlani Kanfitin, reaffirmed ECOWAS’ commitment to advancing livestock development and research collaboration in the region.
He expressed appreciation to the European Union (EU) and the Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECID) for co-financing the PRISMA Project (Research and Innovation for Productive, Resilient, and Healthy Agro-Pastoral Systems in West Africa), which promotes climate-adapted, research-based innovations in the livestock sector.
He said the PRISMA Project aligns with ECOWAS’ regional agricultural policy (ECOWAP), which seeks to transform agricultural and food systems across the region.
Kanfitin emphasised the importance of policy dialogue as a lever for coherence, strategic orientation, participatory governance, and regional integration.
He said: “The livestock sector occupies a central place in the economies of our member states. It contributes to food security, job creation, and the income of millions of rural households.
“This policy dialogue workshop constitutes a key moment for reflection and collective action; it is intended as a space for discussions and decision-making to improve the policy environment for research and innovation to increase the productivity and resilience of agro-pastoral systems in West Africa and the Sahel,” he noted.
In his remarks, Agricultural Engineer and PRISMA Researcher, Dr. Fernando Escribano, highlighted the project’s focus on tackling aflatoxins in livestock feed.
He described aflatoxins as metabolic byproducts of fungi and bacteria that can grow in the field and during storage when high moisture and temperature conditions allow, stressing the need for standard methods to control their presence in livestock feed.
“This is the scenario that we had when we started this project. We decided to focus because aflatoxins don’t have borders. Environmental impact doesn’t have borders. So, we decided to go with a harmonization exercise. We need to harmonize and define what is equality,” Dr. Escribano explained.
“We need to avoid the presence of aflatoxins in our feeds. We need to know how to sample to detect aflatoxins. We need to know how to measure aflatoxins in a relatively simple way, but in a way that we all agree to be done,” he added.
The PRISMA policy dialogue workshop was organized under the framework of ECOWAS’s regional agricultural policy (ECOWAP) and hosted in Abuja, Nigeria, with active participation and support from the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development.
The event was co-financed and technically supported by the European Union (EU), the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Luxembourg Cooperation, Belgian Cooperation, and Spanish Cooperation, highlighting a strong partnership between regional bodies, national authorities, and international development partners.
Nigeria Anticipates Contribution of Livestock Industry to GDP in Ten Years to Hit $94 billion
Nine PAP Foreign Scholarship Beneficiaries Bag Master’s Degrees From UK Varsities
•••771 to Graduate in Nigeria in 2025
•••Otuaro Hails Scholars’ Performances
By: Michael Mike
Nine students awarded foreign post-graduate scholarships by the Presidential Amnesty Programme have graduated from their master’s degree rprogrammes in universities in the United Kingdom.
The successful scholars are the first graduates in the offshore post-graduate scholarship deployment to UK institutions by the PAP Administrator, Dr Dennis Otuaro, for the 2024-2025 academic session.
They graduated from the Anglia Ruskin University, University of Dundee and The University of Law with master’s degrees in cyber security, data science and engineering, law, construction and civil engineering management, project management, and ICT.
Also, 711 undergraduate and post-graduate scholarship beneficiaries are expected to graduate from universities within Nigeria this year.
The PAP, on Wednesday, 3 December, 2025, organised a graduation reception for the scholars in London.
Otuaro has congratulated them on their successful graduation, stressing that they completed their programmes in record time which shows the seriousness they had put into their studies.
He said they have justified the Federal Government’s investment in their education with their successful graduation, and urged other beneficiaries not to be distracted in their academic pursuits.
“We congratulate these scholars on their successful graduation. It shows that they took their studies seriously. That is what we demand of every scholarship beneficiary, whether at the undergraduate or post-graduate level”, Otuaro said.
He reiterated his unwavering commitment to expanding the scholarship scheme to create more opportunities for indigent students of Niger Delta extraction to access higher education with a view to closing the human capital development gap in the region.
Otuaro said it was for this reason he deployed 3800 beneficiaries in-country in the 2024-2025 academic year, and increased the figure to 3900 in the 2025-2026 academic session with 200 for foreign scholarships.
Otuaro has so far deployed 7700 students for the PAP scholarship scheme within Nigeria in less than two years.
Within this period, also, he has also deployed 162 students from the region for post-graduate programmes in targeted disciplines in the UK universities.
According to him, this is in conformity with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu for the Niger Delta, who has given unprecedented support to the PAP because of his sincere love for the area.
The PAP boss said, “Our decision aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR for the Niger Delta. We will continue to create more higher educational opportunities for students from indigent backgrounds in our region.
“We are also deepening the implementation of the programme’s mandate in informal education and other areas for the sustainable peace and socio-economic advancement of the region.”
Nine PAP Foreign Scholarship Beneficiaries Bag Master’s Degrees From UK Varsities
Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limited Established for Realization of Ondo Project
By: Michael Mike
Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limited has been incorporated to seamlessly allowed for the Refinery and Free Trade Zone in Ondo State.
A press statement on Thursday read that: “In furtherance of our commitment to the execution of these two major projects – Refinery and Free Trade Zone in conjunction with the Ondo State Government, the joint partners have taken another giant step by incorporating a joint company, namely – SUNSHINE JOINT VENTURE INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED – as the vehicle to be used in executing these projects. A move that further reinforces the sincerity of purpose and total commitment of the funding partners to move ahead together as a united front.
According to the release by Wale Adekola on behalf of the JV, the Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limitedwill, going forward serve as the vehicle to work with the Ondo State Government through the Ondo State Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA) in the implementation of the executed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).
The statement added that: “In moving the projects forward for implementation, the JV team met in Dubai to finalize the funding modalities and put in place structures and plans for the commencement of activities for ground breaking and community engagements. These initial activities are aimed at complementing the 50th Anniversary of the creation of Ondo State and the one year anniversary of the election of the Executive Governor of the Sunshine State, His Excellency, Chief Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa CFR.
At the Dubai meeting were key officers of the JV Company, including: Messrs SALEHI FARHAD; ZAHERI NAVID; EGHBAL KORDJAMSHIDI; SAHEED ZAHERI; DR. STEPHEN DIKE; HENRY OWONKA AND MRS. NAMVAR MARYAM.
The statement further informed that, plans have been concluded to mobilize the relevant contractors working with the locals and host communities to put up structures that will host the information center, architectural models to showcase the projects on offer and facilities that will serve the team. All these are being planned with ONDIPA to execute the relocation and accommodation of the host communities that are likely to be affected by the projects and create a seamless transition that will engender peaceful co-existence and harmonious relationship with our host communities.
The JV company further reiterated its commitment to work with Ondo State Government (through ONDIPA) to change the infrastructural landscape of the Sunshine State and for mutual benefits.
Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limited Established for Realization of Ondo Project
Edo: Seven suspected bandits arrested along Benin-Agbor Road
By: Zagazola Makama
Seven suspected bandits were arrested along the Benin–Agbor Road in Edo State during stop-and-search operations, security sources confirmed.
Sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspects, all Fulani youths, were intercepted after being offloaded from a truck at about 1800 hours on 2 December 2025. A search revealed pictures of assault rifles, including AK-47s, on their mobile phones.
Upon interrogation, the suspects claimed to have travelled from Adamawa State. Investigations are ongoing for the possible recovery of actual firearms and to determine their involvement in criminal activities.
Security agencies have urged members of the public to report any suspicious movements to help prevent criminal acts in the area.
Edo: Seven suspected bandits arrested along Benin-Agbor Road
Defense Minister: Soldiers, citizens applaud General Musa’s renewed vigor in combat strategies.
The Voice of Dan Balki: An Attempt to Derail the Gains of Building a Stronger North with VP Kashim Shettima as “Jagoran Arewa”
UN Women Calls for Strengthening of Mechanism and Policies Towards Ending Gender Violence
Roger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
THE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
POLICE CHARGE ROOMS, A MINTING PRESS
-
News2 years agoRoger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
-
Opinions4 years ago
THE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
-
Opinions4 years ago
POLICE CHARGE ROOMS, A MINTING PRESS
-
News2 years agoEYN: Rev. Billi, Distortion of History, and The Living Tamarind Tree
-
News8 months agoFAILED COUP IN BURKINA FASO: HOW TRAORÉ NARROWLY ESCAPED ASSASSINATION PLOT AMID FOREIGN INTERFERENCE CLAIMS
-
ACADEMICS2 years agoA History of Biu” (2015) and The Lingering Bura-Pabir Question (1)
-
Columns2 years agoArmy University Biu: There is certain interest, but certainly not from Borno.
-
Opinions2 years agoTinubu,Shettima: The epidemic of economic, insecurity in Nigeria
