The Federal Government of Nigeria on Tuesday said it has begun the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agriculture, Andrew Kwasari, who announced the commencement of the program, disclosed that 20 governors had shown interest in the program.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari had secured a €400,000 grant from the Netherlands for the initiative.
This was contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the Communications Lead, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development-Project for Agricultural Development Planning, Sandra Affun.
Buhari secured the grant during his visit to the Netherlands, the statement revealed.
It stated that the government would implement the pilot projects in Nasarawa, Adamawa, Plateau, and Gombe states.
Kwasari stated that a kick-off meeting for the implementation of the pilot phase of the livestock plan was held recently in Nasarawa State in the Office of the Deputy Governor, Emmanuel Akabe.
He said the pilot phase of the NLTP in Nasarawa State was being implemented at the Awe Grazing Reserves in the state.
“The pilot (program) will serve as a proof of concept for the livestock sub-sector transformation process,” Kwasari stated.
On state governors interested in the program, the FMARD-PACE outlined them to include the governors of Kaduna, Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Plateau, Zamfara, Kano, Ondo, and Katsina.
Others include Bauchi, Yobe, Borno, Gombe, Nasarawa, Niger, Sokoto, Ekiti, Kogi, Ebonyi and Kwara.
In his response, the Nasarawa State deputy governor was quoted in the statement as saying, “We are quite enthusiastic about this program starting in Nasarawa State.
“We feel it is a great honor that Nasarawa State was picked to pilot this project. We as a state have resolved not only to be in charge but also in control.”
