FG to digitalize grazing routes, set border control against disease outbreak

The federal government in a bid to control the outbreak of disease in cattles has assured of its readiness to create border control post for international grazing routes in Nigeria.

Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha while speaking in Abuja on Friday at the second edition of the ministerial press briefing stated that the government will create a veterinary control post along the cattle route while taking inventory of all cattles entering the country.

Maiha explained that Nigeria has the biggest cattle market in Africa which allows cattles into the country, hence the government will ensure the digitalization of all grazing routes across the country to ensure international boundary and disease control.

“We are the biggest market in Africa. We receive cattle as far as from Sudan, Chad, Niger and other countries they live inside this country. What is absent today, and we have started taking inventory they also link up to the grazing route, and all of them
end in designated grazing reserves.

“We want to digitize them as well as international cattle routes, so that for international
cattle routes, we will put border control posts for disease, international boundary, and disease
control.

“It is on record that the first cases of anthrax were imported to this country from our
neighbors. If we have had control from these international cattle routes, we would be in
a position to arrest that situation. We
are going to create veterinary control posts in all of these cattle routes and started taking inventory from Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Katsina, Kano, down to Niger state
this is very important hence there is no contradiction here.”

Maiha further stated that to ensure traceability of cattle and enhance public health safety for meat consumption, the government will ensure tagging of all cattles while linking all up coming ranches in the country to the state abattoir.

“It is important. We should be able to trace every piece of meat you buy from the grocery. For
issues of health that borders on public safety.
we will link up all ranches that are coming up in this country to the
state abattoir. Each ranch will be dedicated to abattoir. So we know the history of the
animal.

“We know the medication, we have the records. This animal will have an antenatal inspection, meat inspection, meat certification, everything you go to buy.
So once you are eating your meat, you know from which farm it is coming and that is
international standard. Because we want to aim at the international market.

In addressing one of the major challenges facing the livestock industry which is inadequate infrastructure, he said the ministry is revamping grazing reserves nationwide, equipping them with feed and fodder facilities, water resources, veterinary services, and schools for pastoral families.

“With more than 417 grazing reserves spanning over 5 million hectares, the government aims to transform these areas into economic hubs for beef production, dairy farming, and leather processing”.

He added that the ministry has also secured significant investment commitments from international partners.

“One of the most significant outcomes of these international engagements spearheaded by President Bola Tinubu was Brazil-Nigeria Trade Mission which secured a landmark $2.5 billion investment deal with JBS S.A, the world’s largest meat processing company.

This partnership, he said, will establish large-scale meat processing plants for beef, poultry and pig production, create over 50,000 direct and indirect jobs in Nigeria’s meat industry and enhance the country’s participation in global livestock markets, thereby increasing exports to the Middle East, Europe and North Africa.