The Livestock sub-sector accounts for more than 40 per cent of the global agricultural Gross Domestic Product, Dr Ernest Umakhihe, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has said.
Umakhihe said the sub-sector also provides more than 33 per cent of the World’s protein intake. Umakhihe, who stated this on Tuesday at the opening of a training for farmers on the utilisation of low-grade grains, however, noted that the utilisation of the cheapest and most available livestock feed was a major challenge facing farmers in Nigeria.
The permanent secretary was represented by Mrs Winnie Lai-Solarin, Director, Animal Husbandry Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
He listed the cheap feed resources to include crop residues (rice, maize, ground nut and cassava by-products, animal processing wastes, and brewery wastes, among others.
“On the other hand, such feeds must be cost effective. Nutritious animal feed is essential for development and productivity of animals, especially food animals. “In Nigeria, animal feed remains a challenge to animal husbandry practices, largely due to high cost of animal feeds, which are not readily available and where they are, they are not easily affordable by an average farmer,” Umakhihe said. Source; The Punch
