Daniel Adaji
The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, on Monday laid out an ambitious roadmap to overhaul Nigeria’s livestock industry, declaring that the country now has “a unified vision for livestock transformation” aimed at economic growth, conflict reduction and long-term food security.
Maiha announced the plan in Yola, Adamawa State, during the maiden meeting of the National Council on Livestock Development (NCLD), where he told delegates that the gathering marked “a historic” moment for the sector and an opportunity to build a modern, competitive livestock economy.
Welcoming participants to the event, he expressed gratitude to Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri for hosting the meeting and noted Adamawa’s long-standing role in livestock development. He said the state “was the first State to establish a Ministry of Livestock and Aquaculture about 20 years ago,” adding that under the current administration, the sector had received “radical and innovative approaches to reclaiming grazing reserves, stock routes and peace building.”
The Minister stressed that the Council’s creation signals a shift toward coordinated national action. “This gathering is not merely a meeting; it is a testament to our collective resolve to forge a new, prosperous, and peaceful future for Nigeria’s livestock sector,” he said. According to him, the NCLD is designed to harmonise strategies, attract investment and position livestock as a driver of economic diversification, rural development and peacebuilding.
Maiha reflected on the Ministry’s first year, saying it was established “with a clear mandate: to transform the livestock sector from a traditional, often conflict-ridden practice, into a modern, sustainable, and economically vibrant industry.” He said the National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy (NL-GAS) and other plans had already laid a solid foundation, with the goal of expanding the industry from a $32 billion to a $74 billion market within five years.
He added that the Ministry was engaging local and international partners, and that these discussions were already yielding results, including “strong expressions of interest from foreign direct investors eager to participate in Nigeria’s livestock sector.” He said companies had shown interest in dairy, beef, fodder, animal breeding, poultry, piggery and livestock identification.
Maiha detailed key achievements over the past year, including the registration of eight new pasture species — the first in nearly five decades — and the development of the National Strategy and Action Plan on Animal Genetic Resources, which he described as “the blueprint for sustainable breed improvement.”
He highlighted infrastructural gains under the L-PRES programme, which delivered solar-powered vaccine storage, boreholes, cattle dips, milk collection centres and pasture development nationwide. He added that work at the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) in Vom will increase vaccine production capacity from 120 million to 850 million doses annually.
He also announced the inauguration of the Wase Livestock Village in Plateau State as a model for rehabilitating 417 grazing reserves. According to him, rehabilitated reserves will host modern infrastructure, schools, veterinary services, water systems and secure settlements. “Rehabilitation of the Grazing Reserves, making them conducive for pastoral settlements, is the only panacea for the farmer-herders conflict,” he said.
On partnerships, the Minister noted that nearly half of Nigeria’s states have set up livestock-focused ministries or agencies and that global and indigenous companies — including Arla Foods, Nestlé, Promasidor, Danone, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, Integrated Dairies Limited and L&Z Farms — are investing in dairy development. He said the target to double milk production from 700,000 to 1.4 million metric tons is “now within reach.”
Still, Maiha stressed the need for a common national approach. He said his consultations across states revealed both vast opportunities and shared challenges. “We cannot afford a fragmented response,” he told the Council, urging states to align with NL-GAS.
He identified four pillars that must anchor the reforms, beginning with breed improvement through breeding centres and artificial insemination. He reiterated that “the era of open grazing is unsustainable,” calling for full rehabilitation of grazing reserves into Renewed Hope Livestock Villages (RHLVs) and encouraging states to provide land for pastoralists willing to adopt ranching.
“Ranching provides security of tenure… and fosters a settled, prosperous community, thereby eliminating the root causes of farmer-herder clashes,” he said.
Maiha also called for deeper investment across the entire value chain — from feed and processing to transport and marketing — noting its potential to support food security, job creation and poverty reduction.
As the meeting closed, he urged delegates to treat their decisions with urgency and unity. “The decisions we make here in Yola will echo across our nation for generations,” he said. He asked stakeholders to leave the Council “with a renewed spirit of cooperation and a firm commitment to a single, national agenda” that can make the livestock sector “a beacon of prosperity, a source of national pride… and a guarantor of peace and food security for all Nigerians.”
