Livestock sector reform aims to resolve farmer-herder clashes – Tinubu
Abdullateef Fowewe
President Bola Tinubu has revealed that his administration’s decision to explore the livestock sector is driven by a desire to turn a long-standing source of conflict into an economic opportunity.
Speaking on Thursday during the signing of a Letter of Intent between the Nigerian government and JBS S.A, a leading global meat processing company, President Tinubu noted that the clashes between farmers and herdsmen in Africa have resulted in loss of lives and bloodshed.
However, rather than seeing this as an intractable problem, President Tinubu believes that it presents an opportunity for economic growth and development.
Tinubu in a statement issued on Friday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, President m said, “We’ve heard so much about you in terms of the reputation, and we believe in the partnership we are forging today.
“Food security is extremely important. As we talk right now, there is hunger. However, there is huge hope. And you are one of those hopes that we are looking at.”
It was gathered that Tinubu told the JBS top executives that Nigeria is ready to do business with them, assuring them of a good return on their investment.
“Prior to his visit to Brazil, the President had commissioned a team of Nigerian officials and private sector players to take advantage of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Rio to conduct a study tour of Sao Paulo, Brazil and explore the opportunities in livestock development, meat processing, seed development and multiplication for key grains,” Onanuga said.
In his remarks, the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mahia, who led the delegation, reported to Tinubu that the team embarked on guided, extended and intensive tours of companies on the scale of their global reach, the integrated nature of their operations as well as the deployment of advanced technology.
He added that from their interactions with various companies, JBS S.A. was chosen being the second largest meat processing company in the world with the capacity to process 33,000 cattle daily and over eight million birds daily, using advanced zero-waste practices. The company employs over 200,000 people across its subsidiaries in more than 50 countries in the world including United States, Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia among others.
The founder and President of the JBS group, Wesley Batista said the company is the largest employer of labour in Brazil with over $79 billion dollars revenue already in the year 2024.
Batista said, “We are glad to work with Nigeria to work together to develop the livestock industry there. We think it’s a good opportunity for our business in Nigeria and Africa as we believe Nigeria can be the centre of supply of protein to many countries in Africa.
“We look forward to working with you. We are almost in December and this year is almost gone. We hope to be in Nigeria as soon as possible.”
Other members of the delegation included Minister of State Agriculture and Food Security Hon. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, Co-chairman Presidential Livestock Reform Committee, Professor Attahiru Jega, the Secretary of the Committee, Professor Mohammed Kuta Yahya, and the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Investment Promotion Council, Aisha Rimi.
