The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, has tasked the Nigerian Institute of Animal Science (NIAS), to ensure the safety of the lives of animals, curb the practice of quarks, and build a global competitive trade-in livestock subsector.
Nanono gave this task while inaugurating the 5th council of the Nigerian Institute of Animal Science, in Abuja.
Speaking at the inauguration, the Minister disclosed that Nigeria’s cattle market is worth over N3 trillion, hinting that no responsible nation would toy with the huge market the livestock subsector holds.
Nanono said the nation needs to quickly transit from the farmers’ herder conflict era to becoming a net exporter of premium beef, emulating, and surpassing the enviable achievements of countries like Uruguay which has metamorphosed over the recent years into a leading exporter of premium beef to the EU, US, and even the Chinese markets.
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In his address, the President, NAIS, Yusuf Abubakar said the NAIS has a crucial role to play in the National Livestock Transformation Plan, NLTP, of the Federal government.
Abubakar appealed for the establishment of additional animal husbandry research institutes in the country.
The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ernest Umakhihe, represented by the Director, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Mr. Ime Umoh, urged the committee members to work as a team and take the assignment as a call to national duty where national interest is prioritized.
The Council was tasked to come up with scientific and practicable models that the government can adopt to finally lay to rest the front-burning problem herder farmers conflicts.
(Editor: Omor Bazuaye)
