Federal Government on Tuesday unveiled plans to boost the country’s economy by N33 trillion through the unbundling of the livestock sector.
The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha disclosed this in Abuja during a hearing held at the instance of House Committee on Livestock, chaired by Hon Wale Raji.
Maiha said that once unbundled the sector has the potential to attract a lot of foreign and local capital investment into the country, adding that several Nigerian businessmen have already indicated interest to go into ranching farming and dairy production.
He, therefore, urged all 36 State Governments to create dedicated Ministries of Livestock for a more seamless relationship with the Federal Government.
“At the moment we are taking stock of those State Governments that have external Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries. For State Governments that have not created, they should give it effect and have a standing Ministry for Livestock so there would be a seamless relationship between the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development and the State Ministries of Livestock as the case may be.
“This sector is worth about N33 trillion once unbundled. Once unbundled we have a huge opportunity to attract capital into the country as well as have a lot of ranchers.
“At the moment we have a lot of requests from Nigerian businessmen who want to go into ranching and dairy activities.
“So it is a question of settling down and unbundling this Ministry, giving it to into the formal sector so that it can be derisked and people will know that beyond what everybody has been saying before the creation of this Ministry, today there is a strong political support from the office of the President and then this Committee,” he said.
The Minister who noted that the Ministry is still awaiting the White Paper on the report of the Presidential Committee which proposed the establishment of the Ministry, noted that the report contains what government’s set objectives.
While noting that there’s no budgetary allocation for the newly established Ministry of Livestock, he disclosed that frantic efforts have been made to prepare the budget for the 2025 fiscal year.
He specifically expressed excitement that the Ministry signed a $2.5 million Memorandum of Understanding with Brazilian firms during the G20 Summit held recently in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
While noting that out of over 400 grading routes in the country, less than 150 have been captured by the Ministry of Agriculture, he unveiled the Ministry of Livestock’s plans to establish more cattle routes in addition to the existing ones, as well as s ensure the provision of adequate infrastructure within the facility.
Speaking earlier, Chairman, House Committee on Livestock, Hon. Wale Raji, said the transformation of the livestock sector of the country holds a lot of opportunities for job creation and contributing to the economic growth and development of the country.
He said the Committee understood the urgency the sector needs and promised to partner with the Ministry to ensure speedy implementation of the sector.
He expressed confidence in the capacity of the Minister to deliver on his mandate.
“The only regret is that the creation of the Ministry is coming this late. But our consolation is that it is better late than never. And with your wealth of experience as a technocrat and also a practising farmer, we do not doubt that we have a round peg in a round hole.
“The whole essence would be towards the development and progress of the country,” he said.
He, however, warned that the Committee will not compromise on its oversight function.
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