The Federal Capital Territory Administration has launched a livestock development and implementation plan, aimed at revamping the livestock sub-sector to attain food and nutrition security in the territory.
FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Aliyu, who officially launched the plan at the opening ceremony of a two day stakeholder’s engagement meeting, assured that the plan will enhance job creation and stimulate further diversification of the economy away from the oil sector.
The plan, with a gestation period of 10 years, is aimed at facilitating and enhancing the provision of critical infrastructure and resolving all social impediments towards the full development of the four grazing reserves in the FCT.
Aliyu, noted that the outcome of the meeting is expected to provide the FCT Administration with a roadmap towards a stable and prosperous livestock sub-sector.
The minister revealed that the agricultural sector contributed about 22.36 percent to the national GDP in the first quarter of 2022, with the livestock sub-sector contributing about 7 percent to that figure, while regretting that the potentials that would enable the efficient growth of the sector have yet to be activated.
“While this underscores sector and sub-sector relevance in economic growth, achieving targeted growth in livestock output has been slow.
“Projections suggest that with the exponential rise in human populations, especially in urban settings like the FCT, the demand for livestock products such as poultry meat, beef, and milk will grow without a commensurate capacity of the livestock industry to meet needs,” she affirmed.
She therefore promised that the FCT Administration would provide the needed environment for operators to excel.
Earlier, the FCTA Permanent Secretary, Mr. Adesola Olusade, who was represented by the Director Human Resource Management, Malam Mohammed Bashir, stressed that this dynamic approach was in tune with modern institutional governance that lays emphasis on structured planning as a necessary prerequisite to successful programmes implementation.
Adesola also noted that the FCT is blessed with abundant potentials in the livestock sub-sector which is why the Administration has given deserved attention to the sector and the interest shown by the Africa Development Bank, AfDB, and Islamic Development Bank, IsDB, in funding the establishment of the Special Agro-Inustrial Processing Zones, SAPZ, is expected to provide an additional boost to the livestock sector.
In his remarks, Secretary Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, Malam Abubakar Ibrahim, reiterated that the FCT Administration is putting in place, structures and policies that would attract investors in the sector, as well as support the activities of small-holder livestock farmers.
He commended the FCT Minister of State for demonstrating her passion for the Agricultural sector, and the development of a 10-year action plan toward repositioning the livestock sector in FCT.