In slaughterhouses across Taraba State, a quiet yet remarkable transformation is underway. What began as a dream under the Taraba State Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (L-PRES) project, to equip butchers, meat sellers, and processors with modern, hygienic meat-handling skills, is now visibly taking shape.
During The Guardian’s visits to several slaughterhouses, our correspondent observed cleaner facilities, more orderly work areas, and butchers who had become visibly more deliberate in the way they handled meat.
Many say the shift is a direct result of the recent three-day capacity-building training on hygienic meat-handling protocols and regulatory standards organised by L-PRES.
For years, unsafe meat handling has posed significant health risks to consumers and incurred substantial losses for those in the livestock value chain. But now, butchers across the state say they are working “round the clock” to prevent cross-contamination and ensure that meat reaching the market is safe.
“We are beginning to see the impact already,” said James Habila, the Secretary of the Taraba State Butchers Association, in an interview with The Guardian.
“The knowledge we acquired during the training has started to reflect positively on our businesses. We now understand proper handling and storage of meat and meat products. Cleanliness and sanitation in our slaughter slabs have improved greatly.”
Habila explained that butchers are more conscious of personal hygiene and better equipped to implement protocols that reduce the risk of contamination. “We can now prevent cross-contamination of meat and meat products in our abattoirs. That alone is a big step forward.”
At the Zing Local Government Council, the local butchers’ association chairman, Mohammadu Saforo Dan’Arewa, praised L-PRES for involving butchers in its programs.
According to him, the initiative has not only raised awareness but has united meat handlers around a new culture of responsibility and professionalism.
In Ardo-Kola, the story is no different. The chairman of the butchers’ association, Ibrahim James, urged the L-PRES team to sustain the capacity-building efforts. “This knowledge is essential,” he said. “We now know how to carry out our work without jeopardising the lives of consumers. We want L-PRES to continue empowering us.”
Meat sellers and processors who also participated in the training echoed similar sentiments. They described the program as “timely” and “transformational,” adding that it has improved both their handling practices and the confidence of their customers.
For L-PRES, which aims to improve livestock productivity and resilience, these early signs of progress suggest that its investment in training is starting to yield results.
For consumers across Taraba State, it may well mark the beginning of a new era, one where safer meat and healthier markets become the norm rather than the exception.
As the reforms continue to ripple through the livestock sector, the state’s butchers appear ready to embrace a safer and more sustainable future, one slab at a time.
When reached for comment, the L-PRES state Coordinator, Mr. Hananiah G. Albert, said he and his team, in collaboration with the state Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and the state government at large, will leave no stone unturned to sustain the programme.
