Economy
African Governments Meet to Discuss Sustainable Future of Livestock

By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Africa Sustainable Livestock 2050 (ASL2050) has launched in Addis Ababa and it is to encourage governments to think beyond livestock today, for the people of tomorrow.
ASL2050 is a cross-sectoral initiative analysing the impact of a growing livestock sector on public health, the environment, and livelihoods.
Government ministers and representatives from Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) met today in Ethiopia to discuss the future of the livestock sector in Africa.
Ethiopian Minister of Livestock and Fishery, Professor Fekadu Beyene, explained that, “This is a wonderful opportunity to share expertise and experience between ministries and countries, with the aim of building a sustainable livestock sector in the coming decades that will enrich the lives of all our citizens.
“We are looking forward to partnering with USAID and FAO to examine our livestock systems now, and realise the potential they have for the future through the sustainable implementation of the Livestock Master Plan.”
Africa’s economy is forecast to experience significant growth in the next 20 to 30 years. As a result of rising household incomes, people will want to eat more meat, eggs and dairy products. This provides a great opportunity for growth in the livestock sector, but could also pose serious challenges for public health and environmental protection.
ASL2050 aims to facilitate a dialogue between countries, ministries, and specialists to help Africa to prepare for these changes – building the capacity to maximise benefits and minimise challenges.
“The demand for milk, meat and eggs is going to double, triple and even quadruple in some African countries in the coming decades. This is going to cause a revolution in the livestock sector,” said USAID Ethiopia Mission Director Leslie Reed. “With ASL2050, we are going to collaborate with governments to work out how to build the foundations for this change, so that African farmers and consumers will be better off. More livestock means more feed is needed, and land use will change. This presents some challenges for the environment that we need to start preparing for now.”
By facilitating a dialogue between the livestock, environment, livelihoods and public health ministries of Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda, ASL2050 will identify actions that can be taken now to ensure a sustainable and productive livestock sector, while protecting the environment and public health.
Berhe Tekola, Director of the Animal Production and Health Division of the FAO said, “Asia experienced a period of rapid economic growth from the 1970s to the early 2000s, and the livestock sector grew rapidly as a result. Unfortunately the safeguards were not in place to manage infectious disease spread and we saw the emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza in 2003. With similar growth in the livestock sector forecast for Africa, we want to make sure we are prepared so we can prevent a similar disease emergence event in the future, and stay on track to achieve the sustainable development in Africa that we are all hoping for.”
ASL2050 will also anticipate long-term public health risks such as unexpected disease spread from livestock to humans, and identify policies or procedures to implement now that can reduce these risks in the future.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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