The pastoral sector forms a critical part of Nigeria’s agricultural sub-sector, with the population consuming at least one source of protein derived from this food value chain.
Sadly, however, this vital sector faces a myriad of challenges, ranging from multiple taxation and banditry to policy lapses, among others. This challenge is not unique to Nigeria but cuts across many African countries.
To address these challenges and strengthen the sector, the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (B&MGF), is establishing and operationalising the African Pastoral Markets Development (APMD) Platform. This pan-African initiative aims to enable market-driven, adaptive transformations in pastoralism, playing a critical role in fostering inclusive agricultural transformation across Africa.
The AU-IBAR recently convened a meeting of key strategic stakeholders for its first APMD analytics and implementers engagement workshop in Nigeria, themed “Validation of the Pastoral Livestock Market Situation Analysis and Stakeholder Engagement for Developing the Priority Interventions Implementation Plan under the APMD Project.” During the event, some experts spoke exclusively to Science Nigeria on the challenges, the role of data in the pastoral sector, gender mainstreaming, and the role of government in realising the APMD objectives.
Speaking with our correspondent, the national president of the Association for the Promotion of Livestock Breeding in Sahel & Savannah (APESS), Dr. Jalo Buba explained that the sector’s major challenges include the lack of an organised market, multiple taxation and insecurity.
According to the veterinarian, “We have a lot of challenges, but some are major. The number one challenge is that we don’t have an organised market—organised in terms of prices, infrastructure, and security for transporting livestock from aggregation points to the market. Additionally, we lack facilities, particularly those that add value to the livestock market. Transportation is another significant challenge. There are multiple taxation issues along the route before livestock reaches the market. These are some of the key problems.”
Similarly, dairy and livestock expert with the Milk Cooperative and Producers Association Ltd, Rukaiyah Gwamma opined that livestock marketers face challenges related to policies, access, knowledge and regulatory structures.
The secretary of the Expert on Abattoir and Animal Feeds, Dr. Abbas Sherrif, emphasized the poor sanitary conditions of abattoirs, which encourage disease outbreaks, and the scarcity of animal feeds, which account for about 60 to 80 percent of livestock production costs.
In addition, the agricultural adviser to the Nigeria Governors Forum, Prof. Abba Gambo highlighted the nomadic nature of pastoralists searching for pasture and water during seasonal changes, which affects livestock productivity. He also noted the low literacy rate among most pastoralists.
Group managing director of Cape Gate, Kano, Bello Yakasi identified multiple challenges, including the need for conformity with international norms for exporting processed meat or live animals. He also pointed to ethical concerns such as child labour and animal welfare, as well as the lack of proper infrastructure, including cold chain transportation and storage.
He added, “We must also meet international order credibility. Once you receive an order, compliance is critical to ensure delivery within the specified time frame and quality standards.”
Speaking exclusively to our reporter, the chief operating officer of ranch identity, National Animal Identification and Traceability System (NAITS), Uche Omonye noted that while Nigeria’s data systems are still in their infancy, the NAITS platform provides unique identification for all livestock in the country, generating grassroots data critical for planning.
“For effective policymaking in the pastoral sector, you must first understand where the data lies and what you are planning for,” he said.
“With data, you can chart the right path for transforming the sector. You can identify significant livestock catchment areas, which allows policymakers to plan appropriately – for example, determining the best location for grazing reserves. You wouldn’t establish grazing reserves where livestock populations are minimal. Accurate data enables efficient planning and resource allocation, minimising waste,” he maintained.
Emphasising the role of gender, president of the Reube Fulbe Global Rights and Development Initiatives (RFGRDI), Kaduna, Halima Yoman explained that gender is often misunderstood as being restricted to women. In reality, it includes women, youth and the girl-child, all of whom play significant roles in the pastoral sector.
She lamented that gender considerations are often overlooked during training and capacity-building activities, resulting in inefficiency and youth restiveness.
“In Fulani culture, women handle yoghurt production, while the youth manage the cows – herding, grazing, and bringing them back home. To effectively execute projects, youth and women must be included to reduce redundancy and curb youth restiveness,” she maintained.
Gwamma, a livestock value chains expert, agreed with Yoman, adding that the livestock economy is largely dominated by men, with women’s contributions often ignored.
“When I talk about livestock products, I mean milk. Women handle milk marketing and control its revenue, but they lack a voice. Similarly, youth are marginalised, as leadership is reserved for older men and household heads. If given the opportunity, women and youth can significantly contribute to developing and enhancing the sector,” she added.
Experts unanimously agreed that the APMD project holds significant potential for mainstreaming Nigeria’s pastoral sector, boosting its contribution to national development and increasing its share of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).
According to Jalo, “The APMD addresses almost all sectors of the livestock value chain in Nigeria. Transportation and multiple taxation, for example, will be improved under the project.”
“Many challenges can be tackled, particularly in areas such as coordinating livestock prices, providing value-adding facilities and ensuring market security. This will boost revenue for aggregators and local authorities while reducing risks and losses,” he added.
Similarly, Gwamma opined that the APMD programme could introduce interventions to provide relief by creating structured markets, formalizing trades, linking marketers with accessible credit facilities and reducing the dominance of middlemen.
The executive director of the National Animal Production Research Institute, Prof. Mohammed Hassan emphasised the Nigerian government’s pivotal role as the policy owner.
According to him, the APMD revolves around three pillars: policy, data ecosystems and strengthened private partnerships.
“Policy is key to any project’s success. The Nigerian government owns the policies that guide this project’s implementation. Already, we have some policies in place – like the recently launched dairy policy and the upcoming breeding policy. These policies will benefit the sector. The government’s willingness to support the livestock industry will determine this project’s success, helping it become competitive like those in other developing and developed countries,” he added.
Experts unanimously agreed that the APMD Platform will strategically influence, promote and provide visibility for market-focused interventions to enhance pastoral integration into livestock markets. This will be achieved through multi-stakeholder forums designed to implement priority actions under three key pillars:
– Strengthening pastoralists’ integration into livestock markets,
– Policy strengthening and strategic implementation and
– Strengthening and diffusing functional data ecosystems.
