President Bola Tinubu has unveiled an ambitious plan to more than double the economic contribution of Nigeria’s livestock sector from its current $32 billion valuation, positioning the nation as a regional hub for agribusiness, processing, and exports.
Speaking on Monday at the 9th All Africa Conference on Animal Agriculture in Abuja, the president, who was represented by George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, stated that modernising the livestock value chain is critical to strengthening food security, creating youth employment, and diversifying the economy away from crude oil dependence.
The push comes on the heels of the administration’s creation of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development in July 2024, a structural shift designed to transition the industry from traditional, subsistence-level operations into a commercialised, technology-driven power.
He decried that the performance of the sector and its contribution to GDP, which he said has remained below expectation due to low productivity, security friction over grazing, and minimal processing infrastructure. This is as he noted that Nigeria holds a substantial livestock inventory, comprising over 58 million cattle, 64 million sheep, 124 million goats, and 660 million poultry species.
