USDA-FAS, Agriculture Ministry launch livestock genetic improvement sensitisation

The United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS), in partnership with the Department of Veterinary and Pest Control Services of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, has embarked on sensitisation exercises for stakeholders on the improvement of genetic potentials for Nigeria’s livestock industry.

Nigeria has a huge potential in livestock production, especially in the areas of dairy and beef, but due to a very poor genetic pool, the country has been unable to utilise the potentials of this sub-sector.

The workshop, tagged ‘Consultative Stakeholders Workshop on Reproductive Animal Health for Improvement of Genetic Potentials of Nigerian Livestock Herd through Artificial Insemination’, brought together stakeholders in the livestock industry.

Director Animal Health and Clinical Services, Dr. Musa Inuwa Mohammed, who represented the Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria, Dr. Columbus Vakuru, said the program, which was organised by the USDA and the Department of Veterinary and Pest Control Services, aims to see to the possibility of improving the genetic pool of Nigeria’s livestock species.

Dr. Mohammed noted that Nigeria has a very poor gene pool of livestock species, which needs to be improved for optimum production.

“You will find a cow in Nigeria giving you only three litres of milk during the wet season; if you go to other countries in Africa, you will get about 15 to 20 litres of milk from one cow per day, but in Nigeria, during the dry season, you can’t even get one litre because of poor nutrition and a poor gene pool.

“So, this workshop will sensitise stakeholders on the need to imbibe the spirit of improving the gene pool of our livestock species”, he noted

Dr Mohammed further explained that the workshop is targeting both the large ruminant for dairy and beef and the small ruminants for meat.

He, however, stated that the participants at the workshop are expected to take the message down to the farmers in the rural areas in partnership with the federal government.

“After this workshop, the participants and farmers present will go to the grassroots and step down what they have learnt. They will work with the federal government on how to get the real farmers to convince them to accept what they have learnt.

“Some farmers have a lot of misgivings about this concept, but the world has gone very far, we are growing in population, and the food security issue is a problem; if we cannot feed ourselves, then we are in for another problem.

“The workshop is also aimed at improving the livelihood of the farmers and the economy of the nation and getting more food supply for the nation,” Dr Mohammed added.

The acting counsellor, USDA-FAS, Mr. Chris Bielecki, expressed hope that the workshop will present more strategies for enhancing the genetic potential of Nigerian livestock.

The workshop is expected to sensitise the participants on the role of artificial insemination in breeding more productive cows and how to facilitate global trade and protect the return on investment for genetic advancement.

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