The Kulen Allah Cattle Rearers Association of Nigeria (KACRAN) has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure the immediate and full operationalisation of the Ministry of Livestock Development, saying it is currently functioning more like a directorate under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
In a press statement signed and issued by KACRAN’s National President, Hon. Khalil Mohd Bello, the association expressed concern that the ministry is currently incapacitated due to inadequate funding and the lack of a full operational structure.
“It is extremely disheartening that more than a year after its establishment, the Ministry of Livestock Development is still operating more like a Directorate under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, rather than as a full-fledged Ministry with the respect and autonomy it deserves,” the statement said.
According to KACRAN, a fully functional Ministry of Livestock Development is critical to addressing some of Nigeria’s most pressing economic and security challenges.
The association said the livestock sector has the capacity to strengthen food security and nutrition by providing protein, creating jobs and supplying organic fertiliser, but has suffered decades of neglect.
It also noted that the neglect has led to the avoidable movement of livestock from the North to the South, resulting in the destruction of farmland and farmer-herder conflicts.
A functional ministry, it added, would help reduce such clashes.
On the economy, KACRAN said the ministry would drive job creation and enhance national security, while also ending Nigeria’s annual expenditure of billions of dollars on imported meat, milk and dairy products through import substitution.
The group further explained that fully operationalising the ministry would attract foreign investment into the meat, milk and leather processing industries, boost GDP and make Nigeria self-sufficient.
KACRAN also commended the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) and the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) for their vital role in providing security, water points and other social services to pastoralists, and urged them to sustain the good work.
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