NIGERIA – The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in partnership with the Nigerian government has launched the report on African Sustainable Livestock (ASL) 2050.

Speaking during the launch in Abuja, the country representative FAO, Sufyan Koroma, said the report aims at developing the potentials and opportunity of the livestock sector in Nigeria.

The report tagged ‘The Future of Livestock in Nigeria: Opportunities and Challenges in the face of Uncertainty’ looks out to 2050 and presents alternative scenarios that plausibly portray the future of the cattle and poultry sectors in Nigeria.

Suffyan said that it provides invaluable insights to decision makers on actions to make the Nigerian cattle and poultry more robust as well as resilient to an uncertain future and sustainable from a social, environmental and public health perspective.

It presents possible actions that can be implemented in the present time to ensure sustainable development of the sector in the face of the expected rise in population, urbanisation, and other factors.

ASL 2050 has generated evidence on Nigeria’s livestock future through securing the livelihoods of livestock value chain stakeholders and policies for the next three decades.

“Evidences indicate that population growth, urbanisation, industrialisation and rising incomes have already triggered growing demand for animal source foods in Nigeria foods in the country further causing major changes in livestock systems and value chains.

“Development and shifts in livestock systems, depending on the trajectories, will have both positive and negative impacts on society, particularly on public health, environment and people’s livelihood.

“The government of Nigeria, with support from FAO and USAID, engaged a multitude of stakeholders in a conversation around the foreseen and unforeseen of the future of cattle and poultry sectors in the country,” Suffyan said.

It also prioritises on reforms and investments to create the capacity needed to ensure sustainable development of the livestock sector in the next three or four decades, reports Premium Times.

According to data from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), total production of milk, meat, and eggs in Nigeria amounts to 0.5 billion litres,1.4 and 0.6 million tonnes per year respectively.

The livestock sector contributes to about 1.7 per cent to the National Gross Domestic Profit (GDP).

ASL 2050 is a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded initiative which operates in six African countries: Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda.