Rivers Farmers Hail Governor Fubara Over Release of N4b Counterpart Fund for Livestock Development

Rivers Farmers Hail Governor Fubara Over Release of N4b Counterpart Fund for Livestock Development

By Jide Dominic wrote Rivers Farmers Hail Governor Fubara Over Release of N4b Counterpart Fund for Livestock Development

Rivers farmers across various sectors of the livestock industry have joined Permanent Secretaries, Directors of livestock and heads of livestock agencies in the Ministry of Agriculture of Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross-Rivers, Edo and Delta states to hail Gov. Sim Fubara for releasing the counterpart fund of #4 b for the overall development of livestock feeds in Rivers state.

This was contained in a communique issued at the end of the meeting of Permanent Secretaries, Directors and Heads of livestock agencies in the BRACED Commission in Porthacourt, the Rivers state capital.

Organized by the BRACED Commission, the meeting was convened to collectively develop a regional policy on livestock development to align with the Federal Government policy of prioritizing livestock development in Nigeria.

The Director General of BRACED Commission, Amb. Joe Keshi noted at the meeting that there is need for the Commission to brainstorm on the areas of comparative advantage of the states that make up BRACED Commission, stressing that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture is interested in supporting livestock development in the country.

Amb. Keshi further reiterated that the time has come for them to discuss the challenges facing livestock development in these states and find a lasting solution them.

According to him, the key recommendations in the meeting would enable member states to develop individual strategies and action where they have comparative advantage, adding that it was generally recognized that the region collectively has the potential to engage in the large scale production of pigs, poultry, goats, snails, grass cutters and rabbits which have the capacity to grow for exports.

The communique also revealed that some of the constraints facing livestock development, including poor infrastructure, lack of funding, lack of training facilities, poor breeds, high cost of feeds and lack of production techniques.

It further identified opportunities in livestock industry, including state potentials for livestock development, training of farmers to equip to them with modern skills, employment opportunities for youths and women in livestock entrepreneurship, trade and exports in green grasses.

They recommended that all the states within the commission to scale up their
livestock development by strengthening existing policies, especially where they have comparative advantage, provision of resources of resources to assist livestock farmers, training of youths, women and extension workers, provision of veterinary services, supply of grains and animal feeds and generation of of livestock data.

The Commission expressed gratitude to Gov. Similanaye Fubara developing an hatchery at Obio Atali in Obio Akpor local government area of Rivers state which would go a long way in saving the lives of the farmers chickens from dying prematurely.