The federal government is planning to launch a National Animal Feed Policy document to address challenges limiting the livestock industry in the country.
Ernest Umakhihe, permanent secretary at Federal Ministry of Agriculture made this known during the African Union InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR)’s Resilient African Feed and Fodder Systems (RAFFS) Project Inception forum in Abuja.
He expressed the concern of the government over the spiraling cost of feed and its impact on the poultry and livestock industries.
Umakhile who was represented by Fausat Lawal, director special duties, stated that the government is determined to promote innovative approaches to animal feed production to militate the challenges in the subsector.
According to him, the COVID-19 pandemic and vulnerability to natural disasters highlighted the urgency to further boost the nation’ food security.
Also, Huyam Salih, director at AU-IBAR, lamented that Africa is highly dependent on global importation of livestock products with an annual import bill of over $4 billion.
She noted the loss of 9.5 million livestock, worth over $2 billion, in the recent drought in the Greater of Africa region.
