By Kazeem Akolawole
The federal government and development partners in the livestock sector have advocated for alternative ingredients to enhance animal feed supply, reduce the cost of production, and to boost the economy.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe stated that the capacity-building programme was in line with the present administration’s agenda to leverage the agricultural sector for wealth creation, employment generation, and diversification of the economy.
Umakhihe, who was represented by the Director, Animal Husbandry Service, Mrs. Winnie Lai Solarin pointed out that the programme would provide stakeholders with needed knowledge to overcome the complex challenges caused by COVID-19 pandemic, flood, and insecurity in the animal feed sector.
He noted that: “livestock sector supports over one billion people globally, accounting for over 40 per cent of global agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provides over 33 per cent of the world’s protein intake.
” I urge beneficiaries to make adequate use of the capacity building skills to optimise the utilisation of alternative feed ingredients to produce at minimal cost”.
He stated that the ministry was determined to support feed millers with enhanced production processing methods which would lead to increase in feed production, food and nutrition security, as well as better income.
“Feed constitutes about 70 per cent of the cost of livestock production, as such subsidising the cost of feed production would not only increase the farmers profit but also sustain their interest,” he stated.
Also, the Director General, National Animal Production Research Institute, Dr. Yunusa Muhammad Ishiaku appealed to participants to utilise the knowledge acquired from the programme for sustainable animal feed production.
