(Sundiata Post) Miyetti-Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), has called on the Federal Government to give attention to the livestock sub-sector of the economy, to boost employment opportunities and foreign exchange for the country..
Alhaji Othman Ngelzarma, National President of the association made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
Ngelzarma who frowned at the poor attention given to the sector in terms of budgetary allocation, said that such attention hinders the country from harnessing the huge investment in the sector.
The president said that the sector was been neglected from the production processes, transportation, marketing and its entire value chain.
He said that the entire process is left in the hands of the pastoralists that still practice primitive ways of animal husbandry rather than the modern ways.
“During the eight years of Buhari’s administration over 500 billion dollars was spent on agronomy but nothing is spent on livestock to at least balance the two sectors under the ministry of agriculture.
“When you look at the ministry of agriculture`s budget for livestock at the national level, you will discover that the sector is not given the attention it deserves, same with the state governments.
“The only thing the state does is to vaccinate the animals once in a while, the sector deserves more than just vaccination taking into consideration the aspect of livestock production,’’he said.
Ngelzarma said that if livestock processing was modernised, it would make the meat wholesome and certified for export, and generate huge foreign exchange for the economy.
The president said a lot of foreign exchange is lost in the sector because of poor or unwholesome way of processing cow meat.
“The entire value chain is not harnessed the way it will benefit both the producers, the general public and the government,’’he said. (NAN)
