Nigeria secures $500m World Bank facility to boost livestock production — Features — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News

Nigeria has secured a $500 million loan facility from the World Bank to boost livestock production, commercialisation, and resilience across the country.

The project, tagged the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES), runs from 2022 to 2028, funded with a loan of $500 million granted in 2021 and complemented by $46 million in counterpart funding over six years.

The funding is being deployed to improve various aspects of the livestock value chain, and the project is implemented through a Subsidiary Loan Agreement (SLA) at the state level, with the National Coordination Office (NCO) providing technical support and guidance.

The National Project Coordinator of L-PRES, Mr Sanusi Abubakar, during a media sensitisation workshop on Thursday in Abuja, revealed that the funds were broken down into components, including Institution and Innovation strengthening, which gulps about $95 million; Animal Husbandry and advisory support services to gulp $40 million; and Animal Health Services, $40 million.

Other aspects of the fund include Livestock Value Chain Enhancement at $275 million, Crisis Prevention and Conflict Mitigation at $100 million, and Natural Resources and Pasture Management at $70 million.

Highlighting some of the progress the project has made within two years of implementation, Abubakar said they have completed or initiated the rehabilitation of cold chain facilities, provided laboratories for disease surveillance, and constructed solar-powered boreholes at livestock markets and grazing reserves.

In terms of capacity building, he said they have trained veterinary professionals, community livestock service providers, and extension workers in conflict mitigation, animal health, and other critical areas, adding that about 223,097 people have so far benefitted from the project across 17 states.

The NPC further highlighted other ongoing projects, including Livestock Service Centers, Geospatial Mapping of Natural Resources, Livestock Value Chain Hub, and Community Small Ruminants Holding Pens. He added that they also intend to implement the National Animal Identification and Traceability System (NAITS) to enhance livestock management across the country, including the establishment of two Livestock Gene Banks to support breed improvement and conservation.

Meanwhile, the Director of Animal Husbandry Services, Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, Mrs. Winnie Lai-Solarin, decried the poor investment in the sector, saying no nation can achieve food security without investing in the livestock sector.

She stated, “The livestock sector has suffered neglect. Countries that paid attention to the sector have become net exporters of livestock products, but countries like Nigeria have become net importers. We are deficient in food production because we have not invested enough in the livestock sector.”

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