AU-IBAR promotes investment initiatives to unlock Nigeria's livestock potential
The African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources has emphasised the critical role of Nigeria’s livestock sector in ensuring food security, generating employment, and strengthening a competitive agri-food industry, as
The African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources has emphasised the critical role of Nigeria's livestock sector in ensuring food security, generating employment, and strengthening a competitive agri-food industry, as stakeholders intensify efforts to attract investment across the value chain.
The Director, AU-IBAR, Huyam Ahmed Mohammed Elamin Salih, highlighted the sector's strategic importance during a three-day forum held in Abuja under the Africa Pastoral Markets Development (APMD) Platform. The four-year initiative, supported by the Gates Foundation, aims to transform pastoral economies into market-oriented, inclusive, and resilient systems. The theme was 'Facilitate Private Investment in Pastoral Market Systems through Structured Financing Partnerships and B2B Market Matchmaking.'
Represented by APMD Policy Pillar Lead, Ahmed Elbeltagy, Salih said a well-functioning livestock sector was essential for delivering safe, high-quality food, creating jobs and wealth, and driving sustainable rural development. She described the forum as a results-driven platform designed to unlock investment opportunities and strengthen market systems across Africa.
She noted that despite Nigeria's vast livestock potential, the sector continues to face structural challenges, including weak coordination, limited access to finance, and inconsistent supply and quality.
According to her, the forum focused on practical solutions such as investment in dairy, livestock production, logistics, storage, and feed systems.
Similarly, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, Dr Chinyere Akujobi, said the Federal Government was pursuing a data-driven reform agenda anchored on innovative financing models, stronger partnerships, and the development of a modern livestock information system.
Represented by the Director of Livestock Extension and Business Development, Shekamang Ayuba, she stressed that coordinated action across the value chain is key to unlocking the sector's full potential.
Also speaking, the forum consultant Umaru Hassan underscored the need for deeper private sector collaboration to drive investment and technological modernisation. He said joint investment initiatives and innovation would expand opportunities for value addition while strengthening resilience and competitiveness. He added that establishing regional hubs and partnerships with industry groups would accelerate sector-wide transformation.
On his part, Private Sector Engagement Expert ,AU-IBAR, Mohammed Eidie, said the Abuja forum was deliberately designed to move beyond dialogue to concrete deal-making. He noted that the APMD Platform focuses on building trust, facilitating supply agreements, enabling financing partnerships, and driving actionable policy reforms that can be replicated across pastoral economies in Africa.
Stakeholders at the forum aligned on clear priorities, tools, and frameworks aimed at transforming the livestock sector into a more integrated, technology-driven, and investment-ready industry.
The Managing Director ,ABAT CBD Limited, Raymond Olalekan Odulate, called on federal and state governments to partner with the private sector to transform licensed abattoirs into investment-ready hubs.
He described registered abattoirs as the “critical bridge” connecting pastoralists to urban consumers but warned that most facilities are unable to scale due to deep structural constraints.
“Supporting licensed abattoirs is not just about better buildings; it is about creating a safe, traceable and bankable market for thousands of pastoralists. Today, many of these facilities operate far below capacity and cannot attract private investment because the fundamentals are broken,” Odulate said.
He noted that abattoirs across the country struggle with unreliable electricity and water supply, forcing operators to rely on costly diesel generators that undermine cold chain systems required for hygienic meat processing. These challenges, he said, significantly increase operating costs and hinder compliance with export-grade standards.
Odulate also pointed to weak veterinary diagnostics and poor waste management systems as major constraints limiting Nigeria's access to premium export markets.
He urged governments to shift from a purely regulatory role to a more facilitative approach by introducing targeted reforms that de-risk investment in the sector. This includes establishing a dedicated abattoir modernisation fund with single-digit interest rates, supported by institutions such as the Bank of Agriculture Nigeria and the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending.
In her remarks, the Operations Manager, SCL Future Food Systems, Evangeline Dan Yusuf, said the forum comes at a critical time as the sector seeks reforms to drive incentive-based capital investment through clear operational frameworks. She emphasised that licensed abattoirs must be transformed into investment-ready hubs to unlock Nigeria's livestock economy.
