President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had in July announced the creation of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development in the latest attempt by the Nigerian government to address the decades-long conflict between herders and farmers over access to land, pasture and water. The president approved the creation of the new ministry when he inaugurated the Presidential Committee on Livestock Reforms at the State House in Abuja on July 9, 2024.
On September 19, 2024, the Presidential Livestock Reforms Implementation Committee submitted its inception report to the president, giving a detailed guidance on the operations of the newly created Federal Ministry of Livestock Development.
Significantly, the Committee recognised and recommended that the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI) and the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), the only two existing animal-based research institutes in Nigeria, should be strengthened in addition to the desirability for the establishment of eight new livestock research institutes to anchor teaching and cutting edge research and innovation in the livestock subsector.
As the committee is now set to engage and map all the relevant stakeholders in the country's livestock sector, one may submit that the Committee should take advantage of the enormous resources of the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI), a component of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The institute, which will be 100 years old by 2028, is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
The institute, which will be 100 years in 2028 having been founded in 1928, was established to be a research institute of excellence in the development and dissemination of innovations and appropriate technologies for commercial and competitive smallholder environmentally friendly animal production system to ensure animal food security in Nigeria. Specifically, its mission is to conduct demand-driven research and training in animal production, and dissemination of technologies to animal producers, processes, and marketers in an integrated value-chain system to achieve sustainable employment generation, poverty alleviation and improved livelihood in Nigeria.
As the only research institute in the country mandated to carry out research in animal production, NAPRI's broad mandate is to essentially conduct applied research on food animal species as well as forage, and to develop appropriate technologies in breeding and reproduction, nutrition and management with ultimate aim of improving the productivity of the animals for milk, meat, eggs, traction, and power.
Remarkably, the institute has made notable achievements in animal breeding improvement and development as in ShikaBrown egg laying chicken, dairy and beef cattle, sheep and goats. To feed the various classes of livestock, the institute has improved and developed various native and introduced species of pastures, and feeding packages.
The outcomes of the institute's activities are out-scaled to the local producers and processors on the field. For example, it collaborates with reputable hatcheries by giving them parent stock of the ShikaBrown chicken to produce commercials for poultry farmers. The ShikaBrown has been reputed nationwide to have survived the outbreaks of Avian influenza (bird flu).
The hub for improved agricultural productivity in general and livestock in particular is through research. Significantly, NAPRI has a crop of well-trained, competent and committed staff to move the frontiers of agricultural innovations for higher productivity in the livestock subsector.
The institute, for instance, collaborates with relevant research bodies at national and international levels that include International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna; International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada; International Foundation of Sciences (IFS), Sweden; and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Kenya and Ethiopia.
NAPRI has 10 research programmes on animal products, beef, biotechnology, dairy, equine and camel, feeds and nutrition, livestock systems, poultry, small ruminant, as well as rabbit and swine. It also has five outstations spread across the diverse ecological zones of the country.
As the only research institute mandated to conduct research into animal production and pasture development, the institute has acquired capacity through highly qualified dedicated staff and infrastructure. It offers specialised trainings for farmers, women and youths from different states on skills acquisition in various production techniques of different species of animals.
The institute has succeeded in upgrading of indigenous cattle through crossbreeding with exotic animals which have produced crossbred animals with a genetic potential of about 70 percent higher milk yield than indigenous breeds. It also developed the technology for breeding such animals without the need to import exotic breeds.
Animal scientists at the institute have also evaluated the productivity of indigenous cattle, sheep, and goat breeds. Breeds and management procedures suitable for extensive and intensive production systems in different ecological zones have been identified and practical guidelines for farmers have been formulated all at the institute.
For many years, NAPRI has been in the forefront in complementing efforts of the Nigerian government in mitigating the decades-long conflicts between farmers and herders over access to land, pasture, and water, as the institute has always been an advocate for the settlement, relocation and integration of pastoralists into the society for the enhancement of livestock products.
The institute has come to appreciate the immense contributions of the pastoral and agro-pastoral Fulani in the sphere of urban beef supplies, rural diary supplies and distribution. As part of its community service, NAPRI recently revived the grazing reserves in neighbouring communities with provision of school, houses, market, and other facilities.
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As it is, the national mandate of the institute justifiably puts a lot of expectations and demands on the animal research institute. But this is not without challenges. The general relegation of the livestock subsector within the agricultural sector by successive administrations has limited the impact of the institute. In 2023, for example, the total government expenditure on agricultural sector was N14.7 billion. While the crop subsector took N13.1 billion, the livestock subsector had only N977.7 million.
This abysmal neglect has caused the livestock farmers to fight for survival. Livestock to the pastoralists is a means of livelihood. This desperation has precipitated the intra and inter-conflicts between pastoralists and arable farmers and communities.
It is reassuring, however, that the President had given directives to the Minister of Justice to ensure the removal of all legal obstacles to the implementation of the livestock reforms while the Minister of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy will provide support with automation. The president had also directed the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning and his finance counterpart to "create a budget" and "work out the money" for the full take-off of the newly created Ministry. This initiative is, indeed, commendable; and that if the livestock reforms are fully implemented, access to healthy food, optimum nutrition and improved livelihood is certainly assured.
Umar is the Director, Public Affairs Directorate, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
