17th October, 2017
The Kaduna State Government says it would work with stakeholders to establish modern cattle breeding methods in line with global standard.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Kassim Abdulkadir, made the commitment in Kaduna at a meeting with Mr Oluwale Ajadi, the Country Director, Synergos International.
The meeting was part of activities organised by the organisation to mark the 2017 World Food Day.
He said the government would collaborate with organizations like Synergos to evolve a stronger policy and generate support in the livestock value chain under Public Private Partnership arrangement.
Abdulkadir said already, the state government had made arrangement with Dangote Group to train stakeholders on modern cattle breeding in the state.
The permanent secretary said the measure would create employment and address conflict between farmers and livestock breeders in the state.
According to him, the state government has identified three grazing areas with marked cattle routes for upgrade in Kachia, Birnin Gwari and Kagarko Local Government Areas.
“The State Government is passionate about the Grazing areas in the state and is already planning to make additional budgetary allocation of about N2 billion to ensure that the programme was fully in place.“
Livestock statistics made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) show that Kaduna State harbours over 1 million cows in different parts of state.
The permanent secretary also said that the government had taken inventory of its Dams, Boreholes and veterinary clinics and would upgrade them to add value to cattle breeding, enhance food security and tackle malnutrition.
Abdulkadir commended Synergos for selecting Kaduna among the three states its working with to boost agriculture.
In his remark, the Country Director said, the organisation would soon interact with stakeholders in the livestock sub-sector to agree on areas of intervention.
Ajadi urged the government to fully participate in the program holding in November.
According to him, agriculture remained a viable option for the country in terms of revenue generation and stimulating economic growth.
Ajadi said that Synergos was working in Kogi, Benue and Kaduna states to fight poverty through special interventions in crop and livestock production.
The country director said the programme also train farmers in the entire crop production value chain, to maximize their production, as well as engage in policy review and training.