The Ekiti State Government, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the World Bank, has commenced the training of livestock farmers on how to add value to livestock production by creating wealth from wastes.

The Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) is a World Bank-supported initiative implemented across 20 states in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and respective State Ministries of Agriculture.

The animal waste management training for livestock processors in the value chain, organised by the Ekiti State Coordination Office of L-PRES, aims to add value to livestock production by maintaining the highest level of hygiene at slaughterhouses and creating wealth from waste.

Speaking at the training yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Ebenezer Boluwade, said it is imperative to put proper waste management measures in place to maintain a high level of hygiene, as the construction of an ultra-modern abattoir and three mini slaughter slabs is currently ongoing within the state.
“I strongly believe that this training will give the participants a better understanding of how to convert some of these wastes, like blood and viscera, to feeds, and droppings and dung to manure, etc. All these contribute to balancing the ecosystem and creating wealth out of waste.
“There is a circular economy going on today, and by that, I mean the waste becoming an input for other forms of production; there is no waste, in essence. So, what we are doing is learning how to utilise the wastes, how to turn them into wealth by converting them to feeds for other animals and as manure for crop production.
“Your role as livestock farmers is to give value addition to the livestock value chain through good animal husbandry practices and, at the same time, give a boost to the economy of our state by harnessing the economic values in the livestock sub-sector.”

Also speaking, the Lead Consultant to L-PRES, Dr Samuel Ayodele Famakinde, said that the training would focus on the management of abattoir wastes to enhance environmental impact and sustainability.
“Participants are expected to look at the best practices all over the world being put in place here in Ekiti with respect to animal waste management. We know that abattoir waste has been a source of environmental pollution. That will end with cutting-edge waste management technology and the best methods of abattoir hygiene.”

In his remarks, the State Coordinator, Olayinka Adedipe, who was represented by the Animal Husbandry Officer, L-PRES, Adelodun Olumuyiwa, noted that animal waste is quite huge, especially waste generated in abattoirs.
“If you look at these wastes, they are not disposable. For example, the blood constitutes about 6 to 8 per cent of the body waste. If you kill an average cow, you can get as much as 25 litres of blood. For now, the operation is centralised in Ado-Ekiti, where we slaughter 60 animals per day, so you can imagine the volume of such waste.
“So, we look for a way of converting it to make it useful in another way. For instance, the bone can be converted to bone meal for fish and others in the value chain. So, the training is on how to manage such wastes.”