The Kogi Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (L-PRES) Project has commenced a two-day capacity-building training on meat hygiene, safety and sanitation for 300 butchers, abattoir workers and meat sellers across the state’s three senatorial districts.
The training, organised in partnership with Bridge Agrocare Solutions, was held from Monday, November 2, to Saturday, November 7, 2026, across Kogi West, Central and Eastern Senatorial Districts.
The training in Lokoja featured a practical session at the newly constructed Model Slaughterhouse at the Lokoja Main Abattoir, Felele, where participants were shown hygienic practices at different stages of abattoir operations.
Speaking at the training, the State Project Coordinator of Kogi L-PRES, Mr Otaru Abdulkabir Onoruoyiza, said the project was training 300 participants, comprising butchers, meat sellers, abattoir and sanitation workers, as well as veterinary officers across the state.
Otaru said 100 participants would be trained in each of the three senatorial districts, noting that the Lokoja session covered Kogi West, while training for Kogi Central and East would take place in Okene and Anyigba from Wednesday, November 4, to Saturday, November 7, 2026.
“We are building the capacity of butchers, meat sellers, abattoir workers, sanitation and veterinary officers on meat hygiene, safety and sanitation.
“Before now, Kogi L-PRES has constructed eight model slaughterhouses and eight wet markets across the state. Some have been completed, while others are at advanced stages.
“We want to ensure that the direct beneficiaries who will utilise these facilities have the capacity to maintain them and ensure that meat consumed by the public meets the required standards and is safe and hygienic,” he said.
He explained that the L-PRES project had a mandate to ensure food safety under the One Health approach, covering production, processing, value addition and consumption, to prevent meat consumed by the public from becoming a health hazard.
He said the project had also rehabilitated and upgraded nine livestock markets across the state and improved facilities at the model slaughterhouses by providing lairage, holding pens, water facilities and waste management systems, including biodigesters for converting abattoir waste into useful products.
“The objective is to have a livestock value chain system that can improve productivity, enhance livelihoods and ensure food safety and security,” he said.
Otaru said the 300 trainees were being trained as trainers of trainers (ToT), who were expected to pass on the knowledge acquired to at least 10 people each within their respective livestock value chain clusters to expand the programme’s reach.
He disclosed that L-PRES, a six-year World Bank-supported project now in its fourth year, had supported more than 27,000 beneficiaries across the state through livestock farm inputs, pasture farm inputs, productive assets, capacity-building opportunities, artificial insemination for breed improvement, vaccination and livestock infrastructure.
He assured that the target of reaching 30,000 direct beneficiaries would be met and surpassed before the project ends in 2028.
He thanked Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo for his political will and consistent payment of counterpart funds towards the implementation of the L-PRES project to develop the livestock sector in the state.
Also speaking, the Lead Facilitator and Managing Director of Bridge Agrocare Solutions, Dr Majeed Baje, said the training was aimed at educating butchers on the hygienic handling of meat meant for consumption to safeguard public health.
Baje said the training covered ante-mortem and post-mortem inspections, the roles of stakeholders and the enforcement of standard operating procedures in abattoirs.
He advised the trainees to apply the knowledge acquired in their respective operations, stressing that personal hygiene and occupational safety were critical to ensuring safe and wholesome meat for public consumption.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), Kogi State chapter, Dr Tolu Omotugba, said he was impressed by the transformation at the Lokoja abattoir, which had previously suffered from poor hygiene.
“There is now sufficient water, a clean environment for slaughter and for rinsing meat. Going forward, meat going to the market will be clean and hygienic, and this will reduce the rate of meat-borne diseases,” Omotugba said.
He commended Kogi L-PRES and the state government for providing the facility and urged butchers to work closely with meat inspectors and allow them access to the abattoir for inspections in the interest of public health.
On his part, the Chairman of the Kogi Butchers Union, Alhaji Idi Ibrahim, expressed gratitude to Governor Ododo for fulfilling his promise to construct the model slaughterhouse and wet market.
Ibrahim said the union had put measures in place to manage and maintain the facility and would adhere to the lessons learnt during the training.
Facilitators presented modules on the introduction to meat hygiene and the One Health approach, personal hygiene and occupational safety, meat inspection and hygienic dressing, zoonoses and meat-borne diseases, environmental sanitation, meat storage and transportation, and regulatory compliance.
Participants commended the organisers, describing the initiative as timely and important for improving meat safety and public health in the state.
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