The Federal Government has blamed the inability to adopt modern livestock farming on the limited quality of animal feed in Nigeria, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Sahel region.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, Nigeria, Dr Chinyere Ijeoma Akujobi, who spoke at the opening of the regional high-level workshop on the development of the animal feed industry in West Africa and the Sahel, said it was the situation that increased the vulnerability of livestock farmers as well as reduced affected countries’ ability to meet growing demand for food products.

Akujobi decried that, although West Africa and the Sahel have significant potential in terms of animal production, pastoral areas, diverse livestock, and ancestral knowledge of livestock farmers, this potential cannot be harnessed for food security, poverty reduction, and economic development due to existing challenges.

Other factors, she said, include lack of industrial infrastructure, dependence on imported inputs, climate variability and insufficient regional coordination, which have limited the competitiveness of the livestock sector.

“This workshop, therefore, is timely as it aims to promote dialogue among public and private actors. It also provides us with the opportunity and platform to share successful experiences and identify tools for developing a genuine regional animal feed industry.

“As a country, Nigeria’s animal feed production policy is perfectly aligned with the current dynamic and is indeed amplified as a major focus in the National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy (NLGAS), which is Nigeria’s livestock strategy plan for the year 2025 to the year 2035.

“We believe that a strong local and regional animal feed industry will not only create jobs, but it will also reduce dependence on imports and, above all, strengthen food sovereignty in our region.

“The Perm Sec hoped that the outcome of the workshop would lay the foundation for a West African strategy based on promoting local resources through agricultural by-products,” she said.