By Ebriku John Friday
Niger State Governor, farmer Mohammed Umaru Bago said the livestock development project between the Federal Government of Nigeria and a Brazilian firm will open more doors of development.
The farmer Governor stated this when he played host to a team of the Brazilian protein company on a fact finding mission of some livestock facilities in Minna, the State capital.
This was contained in a statement by Mr Bologi Ibrahim, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Niger State and made available to journalists on Wednesday.
The team was led by the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Hajiya Aisha Rimi.
He said the State government is indeed excited with the project as its value chain cannot be overemphasised pointing out that it cuts across crop production,and animal husbandry among others.
The farmer Governor said it is heartwarming, having the world’s largest protein company, with a huge turnover, visit the State for investment.
He then thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for making Niger State a pilot State for such a beneficial project.
The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Hajiya Aisha Rimi, described Niger State as food capital of the nation; hence, Niger State is an important State to consider for such project.
She acknowledged the huge deficit in terms of cattle, swine, poultry, and food generally, pointing out that the project would transform the livestock industry and guarantee food security not only in Nigeria but Africa as a continent .
Fabio Maia described Nigerians as hardworking people willing to work, which he said is an asset.
He said the investment also bring about exchange of knowledge, adding that with the growing population of Nigeria, big market and huge opportunities, the project will be a success.
Some facilities inspected were the Zaima Farms, Dogarawa Farms, Tagwai Dam and Niger Foods Farm in Tagwai where the managers of the facilities conducted the team round various sections of the farms.
While Zaima is an all encompassing livestock farm, producing an average of about 300 crates of eggs at full capacity, Dogarawa is more on cattle fattening, milking, and yoghourt production with about 175 cattle, producing over 300 litres of milk daily.
After the inspection, the team expressed satisfaction with the facilities and said it’s confident that the project will be a huge success in the state.
Recall that the Federal Government recently signed a $2.5 Billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Federal Government of Nigeria and a Brazilian firm to develop the nation’s livestock industry and meat processing enterprise, with Niger State as a pilot State.
