The Federal Government has announced that the livestock program being implemented in selected states across the country under the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) is to deliver an investment return of not less than N2tn to the Nigerian economy.
It said about nine percent of the Nigerian economy was made up of the livestock sector.
A total of 119 ranches are to be created under the plan within 10 years beginning from 2019, while pilot ranches in grazing reserves are being developed in seven pilot states Adamawa, Benue, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba, and Zamfara.
The Federal Government said part of the strategy was to develop a blueprint for sustainable development of ranching in Nigeria.
It said, “Fundamentally, the NLTP is about creating the conditions to launch the peaceful transformation of Nigeria’s livestock ecosystem. If successful, based on internal modeling, the NLTP will deliver an investment return worth at least $2tn to the Nigerian economy, her investors, and households.
“These stakeholders will earn a return in various forms, e.g. improved tax revenues, new job opportunities, protection of life and liberty, etc. While precise pathways may vary, e.g. via improved business context, or the elimination of violent conflict, the end game is the same.”
On the projected impact of the NLTP on the country’s Gross Domestic Product growth, the government explained that livestock currently accounts for nine percent of the size of agriculture in Nigeria’s economy or approximately N2.9tn in value.
“The majority of that nine percent is domiciled in the target states indicating that the successful execution of the strategy will have a material knock-on effect,” it stated.
