The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agriculture Lending (NISRAL), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, has launched a Feedlot Management Training Program (FMTP) to prepare operators in the livestock value chain to appropriate the $2.5 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) deal, which was recently sealed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with global meatpacking giant, JBS.
NIRSAL said that the program is a bold move to position Nigeria to be a leading supplier of quality beef to domestic and global markets.
It explained that the training program came at a critical moment when Nigeria is stepping into the spotlight as a global meat investment destination of choice.
A press release that was issued by the Head, Corporate Communications, NIRSAL, Mr. Jude Nnadozie, said that the JBS’ partnership with the federal government would build six modern meat processing plants across the country with two dedicated to beef, which would usher in increased demand for premium feedstock from local producers.
The Managing Director/CEO of NIRSAL Plc, Mr. Sa’ad Hamidu, who unveiled the program’s strategic intent, said that “this is not just another training. It is a targeted intervention aimed at creating bankable agribusinesses by improving feed formulation practices, reducing input waste, and optimising livestock finishing cycles for increased market value.
“As it is, we are preparing Nigerian livestock producers to feed not just the nation, but the world. And this aligns directly with the federal government’s vision for an agriculturally empowered, export-ready nation.”
The program is also targeting the production of export-grade meat in Nigeria, while improving the productivity and profitability of the producers.
Nnadozie said that although the $2.5 billion deal with JBS is the most notable in the series of investments bound for Nigeria’s livestock sub-sector, it is not the only one, local companies like ABIS Group are also making significant investments in the meat value chain, creating further demand for high-quality feedstock.
He said that participants in the first cohort of the training program were drawn from the Ministry of Livestock Development, the Agric Department of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), National Association of Cattle Dealers, Processors & Marketers of Nigeria (NACDPMAN), Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AUFCDN), Maidoki Farms Limited, and others.
The Director of Ranch and Pastoral Resources Development, in Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, Mr. Shekamang Ayuba, described the training as “eye-opening and apt” and urged for its expansion nationwide.
According to NISRAL, Nigeria’s livestock sector is rich in potential but hampered by outdated practices, poor-quality feed and limited financing, is currently standing on the brink of genuine transformation.
NIRSAL added that the aims of its intervention are to unlock the full potential of the sub-sector by addressing structural gaps through a blend of technical capacity-building, risk-sharing incentives for lenders, end-to-end value chain support, and strategic public-private collaborations.
