Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, Dr. Chinyere Ijeoma Akujobi, made this known on Thursday while declaring open a stakeholders’ engagement workshop on the development of a Climate-Sensitive Plan for the Nigeria Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy (NL-GAS) in Abuja.
Akujobi described the engagement as timely and critical, noting that it represents a decisive step toward integrating climate considerations into livestock development for both mitigation and adaptation purposes.
She stressed that the NL-GAS initiative goes beyond increasing livestock numbers or production output, focusing instead on transforming the sector into an efficient, inclusive, resilient, and globally competitive ecosystem.
“The objective of this forum is to transition from subsistence-based livestock practices to a modern, commercially viable system that delivers value across the entire chain,” she said.
The Permanent Secretary emphasized that adopting climate-smart livestock practices would enable Nigeria to significantly reduce emissions while improving productivity across the sector.
She noted that livestock remains a vital component of Nigeria’s rural economy, contributing between 3–5 percent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product and valued at approximately $32 billion, while supporting millions of livelihoods nationwide.
Akujobi further highlighted the vast opportunities within the livestock value chain, including leather, dairy, meat and egg production, processing, cold-chain distribution, and veterinary services.
“These value chains are central to the National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy, which is designed to optimize the sector in the face of climate variability, land degradation, and increasing population pressures,” she added.
In his presentation, Director Technical in the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Alike Peter, said the workshop aimed to develop actionable strategies to accelerate productivity and reposition livestock as a value chain-driven sector.
He described NL-GAS as a transformative initiative that shifts the perception of livestock beyond animal husbandry to a comprehensive economic sector.
Also speaking, Scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Kenya, Laura Cramer, expressed the institute’s readiness to collaborate with the Ministry in developing and implementing a climate-sensitive plan for the strategy.
The workshop attracted goodwill messages from development partners, including GIZ and FAO, with participants drawn from SAHEL Consulting, the National Council on Climate Change, Christian Aid, the Federal Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry’s Technical Working Group, among others.