To lower production costs and price volatility, the federal government has tasked development partners and other stakeholders with developing a roadmap for national alternative feed resources.
Speaking yesterday at the second National Animal Feed Summit in Abuja, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, bemoaned the nation’s rising animal feed prices and emphasised the need for a national strategy to reverse the trend.
The Minister said that in order to meet Nigeria’s rising need for animal feed, creativity and technology were required to create sustainable and effective production techniques that would benefit rural and small-scale populations.
He claims that the summit’s focus on “Harnessing Alternative Feed Resources for Sustainable Animal Feed Supply” is in line with the federal government’s goals to strengthen the National Strategic Feed Reserve, the feed value chain, and the animal feed policy.
The importance of animal feed was highlighted by Abubakar, who said that it “would give necessary nutrients and support for animals and production.” In addition to problems including limited access to capital and markets, poor investment in R&D, and others, he observed that the animal feed sector is characterised by a combination of small and large scale, old and modern technologies.
He gave the parties involved a mandate to think through a common platform, strategies, and a strong, workable national animal feed policy.
Dr. Imeh Umoh, Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture, spoke on behalf of Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, who stated that the animal feed industry was far from producing enough for the country, given that Nigeria is known to produce an average of 5.5 million tonnes annually.
According to him, this consists primarily of feeds for poultry and has the potential to increase by at least 50 million metric tonnes annually if the commercial ruminant and swine feeding sub-sectors are utilized.
He emphasized that because the business has not yet grown to 25% of the market size, the feed sector has the potential to employ nearly 20 million Nigerians. Umakhihe pointed out that Nigeria’s animal feed industry was still in its infancy because of the high cost of raw materials and other production problems, which disrupted the market and made it difficult for consumers to get goods.
