By Ify Mgbemena

Ogun State is positioning its livestock sector as an investment destination, pointing to its proximity to Lagos, its diverse agricultural landscape and a cattle trade that handles between 10,000 and 15,000 animals every day, according to the Governor’s Special Adviser on Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Angel Adelaja-Kuye.

In an exclusive interview with AgroNigeria, Adelaja-Kuye said the state was drawing on these advantages to attract capital into ranching, dairy production and meat processing. She said the daily volume of cattle moving through the state for trade and slaughter had made Ogun a major meat supplier in the South-West, particularly for Lagos, its large neighbouring consumer market.

She named Ishara, which hosts the largest cattle market in the South-West, as a key asset, alongside the state’s established poultry and piggery industries. Danone’s milk collection facility and dairy centre in Odeda, she said, showed that investor interest was already growing.

To protect the sector, she said, the state was strengthening veterinary services and disease surveillance through cattle control posts set up with the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, along with African swine fever monitoring and vaccination programmes.

On infrastructure, Adelaja-Kuye said the state had built poultry facilities with a capacity of 200,000 birds at the Ada Farm Institute and 5,000 birds per day at the Ajagun farm settlement under the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGEP). The government also provides infrastructure, financial assistance and feed support to livestock operators, she added.

She said peace between farmers and herders was another selling point for investors. According to her, the state has adopted an anti-grazing policy, a peacekeeping committee of traditional rulers, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other stakeholders, and a registration system under which pastoralists sign up through traditional leaders, particularly the Seriki. Farmers, in turn, are expected to identify their farmlands and flag areas where livestock movement should be restricted.

Security agencies have received vehicles and other support to boost surveillance, while Senior Special Assistants on Inter-ethnic Affairs serve as channels for engaging non-indigenous communities. Adelaja-Kuye credited these measures, together with efforts to promote ranching and wider participation in livestock value chains, for a decline in community clashes over the past seven years.

She also pointed to the Ogun Agro-Cargo Airport as an opening for meat processing and export, especially of traceable, hygienically packaged products bound for West African and international markets. She cautioned, however, that exports should not come at the expense of local supply, suggesting that production quotas be agreed with businesses so that part of their output is reserved for the domestic market.

Expanding local production and raising quality standards, she said, would reduce import dependence and help Nigerian livestock businesses earn foreign exchange.

Adelaja-Kuye commended President Bola Tinubu for creating the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, describing it as an important step in tackling animal disease, vaccination, feed costs and insecurity. She urged other state governments to consider setting up specialised livestock ministries and said Ogun wanted federal interventions extended to the South-West to support cattle ranchers, pastoralists, poultry farmers and pig farmers.

Despite the opportunities, she acknowledged that poultry producers still face high feed costs, expensive day-old chicks and unreliable electricity. She called for greater local feed production, research into alternative protein sources and easier access to affordable financing to help producers expand.

The post Ogun Courts Ranching, Dairy Investors- Adelaja-Kuye first appeared on AgroNigeria.