Abuja: The National Sheep and Goat Development Association of Nigeria (NASHGODAN) has urged the Federal Government to establish demonstration farms across the six geopolitical zones. The association said the initiative would boost sheep and goat production, increase farmers’ incomes, and promote healthy practices.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the farms would help reduce the burden of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), sheep and goat pox, as well as other transboundary and zoonotic diseases. The National President of NASHGODAN, Abdullateef Ahmed, made the call in an interview, emphasizing that the centres would serve as learning hubs for testing and showcasing modern, efficient, and sustainable animal-rearing techniques to farmers, students, and investors.
Ahmed mentioned that the farms would facilitate knowledge transfer through hands-on training in improved breeding, animal health, and feeding practices. ‘The centres will boost production by showcasing methods to increase output to farmers and demonstrate profitable agribusiness models to reduce poverty and improve food security. They will also serve as training centres to empower youth and women farmers, as well as provide routine vaccination and treatment of sick animals when necessary,’ he said.
Ahmed identified disease outbreaks, inadequate breeding programmes, poor market access, limited financing, insecurity, and weak value-chain development as major challenges confronting the sector. He pointed out that farmers and livestock producers are key partners in safeguarding the country against PPR and other zoonotic diseases, and incorporating them into government programmes and policies would help address these challenges.
He added, ‘It will ensure the slaughtering of healthy animals for sale and consumption rather than diseased animals, to the detriment of human health. If demonstration farms are established, farmers can take their sick animals to the centres for treatment, and this will be of immense value to farmers and consumers.’
Speaking on the contribution of sheep and goats to the economy, Ahmed noted that their value chain offered enormous economic opportunities that remain largely untapped, despite the sector’s contribution to food security and rural livelihoods. He urged youths to embrace sheep and goat farming not merely as a traditional occupation, but as a modern agribusiness, which could generate wealth, create jobs, reduce poverty, and contribute to national development.
‘The industry is one of the most accessible and profitable agricultural enterprises for rural households, women, youths, and retirees. It provides income, employment, nutrition, and economic resilience for millions of Nigerians,’ he concluded.