By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian government, alongside its development partners, have proffered a roadmap to reduce the cost of production and the effects of incessant price volatility in the animal feed industry.
This was a core message delivered by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, at the 2nd National Animal Feed Summit held in Abuja recently.
He said that the summit, with the theme Harnessing Alternative Feed Resources for Sustainable Animal Feed Supply, aligned with the aspirations and agenda of the federal government to improve the animal feed policy, feed value chain, feed quality control and safety, and national strategic feed reserve, amongst others.
Mr Abubakar pointed out that “the role of animal feed in Nigeria’s agriculture sector was critical as it would provide essential nutrients and support for livestock and production”.
He noted that the animal feed market was characterized by a mix of small and large scale, traditional and modern methods coupled with challenges such as lack of access to credit and markets, low investment in research and development amongst others.
Speaking further, the Minister stated that to meet the increasing demand for animal feed in Nigeria, there was a need for innovation and technology to develop sustainable and efficient production methods which would support small-scale and rural communities.
He, therefore, charged stakeholders to deliberate on a single platform, and strategies and come up with a robust implementable national animal feed policy.
On his part, the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Ernest Umakhihe, represented by the Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mr Imeh Umoh, revealed that the animal feed industry in Nigeria was far from meeting national sufficiency in production.
He said the reason was that Nigeria was known to produce an average of 5.5 million tonnes per annum comprising 85 per cent poultry feeds and has the potential to grow not less than 50 million metric tonnes per annum if the commercial ruminant and swine feeding sub-sectors were harnessed.
He stressed that the feed sector had the potential to engage over 20 million Nigerians, as the industry was yet to reach 25 per cent of its market size.
Mr Umakhihe noted that, Nigeria’s animal feed sector remained underdeveloped due to the high cost of ingredients and other production factors, which resulted in market dislocation and hampered access to products, thereby barring an average farmer out of supply net, noting that these challenges have necessitated the need for the National Animal Feed Summit.
