Nigeria Sounds Alarm on Livestock Feed Crisis, Calls for Immediate Regional Action

News in Brief

• -Nigeria raises alarm over inability to feed 50 million cattle, Livestock minister calls it a national emergency, calling for urgent coordinated action.
• -The ECOWAS Regional Policy Dialogue showcased the PRISMA Project’s achievements in improving livestock feed and pastoral resource management across West Africa.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has raised an alarm over the country's inability to adequately feed its over 50 million cattle, owned by rural dwellers. It has described the situation as a national emergency that requires immediate attention. 

The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, highlighted this critical socio-economic crisis during a recent two-day policy dialogue workshop held by ECOWAS’ Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (ARAA) in Abuja.

At the workshop, Minister Maiha, represented by Dr Peter Alike, stressed that while the livestock sector currently contributes over $32 billion to Nigeria’s GDP, it has the potential to generate more than $94 billion over the next decade if properly managed. He emphasised that feeding the nation’s cattle is not merely a matter of agriculture but one that affects rural livelihoods, human peace, and overall survival. 

Noting how the establishment of a dedicated livestock ministry underscores the government's commitment to tackling livestock farming challenges, the Minister also called for strengthened cooperation between Nigeria, ECOWAS, and regional stakeholders to ensure food security and stabilise the livestock economy. 

Continental dialogue for regional livestock economy development

The event was held within the framework of the PRISMA Programme, a collaborative effort co-funded by the European Union and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). 

The workshop brought together government representatives, researchers, private sector actors, and development partners to place scientific evidence at the heart of agricultural policymaking across West Africa and the Sahel. 

Key topics discussed included advances in pastoral resource mapping, livestock feed governance and traceability, drought-risk insurance, and strategies to reduce aflatoxin (a toxin that threatens livestock health) contamination in feed and milk. 

The dialogue also focused on policy priorities for member states and mechanisms for integrating PRISMA results into national plans and ECOWAS agricultural policies sustainably.

ECOWAS, regional stakeholders commit to PRISMA

The PRISMA  project, implemented in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali, aims to transform agro-pastoral systems, making them more productive, resilient, and healthy in the face of climate change by improving pastoral resource management, livestock feed quality, and reducing zoonotic diseases in the dairy sector.

The Acting Executive Director of ARAA, Konlani Kanfitin, reaffirmed ECOWAS’ pledge to promote livestock research and development, which are critical to addressing these challenges and driving agricultural growth in the region. He noted PRISMA as one of the most comprehensive programmes currently supporting transformation in the agro-pastoral sector, fostering scalable innovations to be embedded in national policies and regional strategies.

Further underscoring the importance of sustained cooperation, Mr Elmounzer Ag Jiddou from Enabel Niger praised the generation of evidence-based tools and methodologies over the past four years, stressing the necessity of institutionalising these results beyond the project's life span. 

The Spanish Cooperation's General Coordinator, Santiago Ormeno Garcia, echoed this commitment, highlighting successful practical solutions through research and community collaboration to enhance animal health, feed quality, and public health outcomes.