The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Livestock Reforms, Professor Attahiru Jega, has raised urgent concerns about Nigeria?s looming protein deficit and worsening food insecurity, calling for immediate reforms to transform the livestock sector.

Delivering a Lecture at the University of Ilorin on Monday, June 30, 2025, titled ?The Political Economy of Livestock Development in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects,? Jega warned that without strategic investments and proactive planning, Nigeria?s growing population?projected to hit 400 million by 2050?could face severe nutritional and economic challenges.

The lecture, part of the university?s 50th anniversary celebrations honouring Senator Saliu Mustapha, highlighted the sector?s critical role in national development.

Presidential Livestock Adviser Attahiru Jega has warned of rising protein deficit, rising food insecurity without urgent livestock system reforms.

According to him, ?Demographic shifts and evolving dietary preferences are set to place unprecedented pressure on Nigeria?s livestock systems in the coming decades?.

He said, ?Projections indicate that by 2050, Nigeria?s population will reach nearly 400 million, positioning it as the third most populous nation globally.

?This demographic surge will necessitate a 253 per cent increase in poultry meat, a 117 per cent rise in beef, and a staggering 577 per cent expansion in milk production to satisfy domestic consumption requirements.

?These figures are not hypothetical abstractions; they are alarm bells.

?Without deliberate, anticipatory planning and long-term investments in livestock systems, Nigeria risks facing acute protein deficits, heightened food insecurity, and intensified pressure on already fragile rural livelihoods?.

Jega added, ?Meeting this projected demand cannot be accomplished through the inertia of business-as-usual practices.

?Instead, it calls for a bold reimagining of the sector?s architecture?anchored in sustainable intensification, climate-smart production, and inclusive value chain development.

?The alternative is an avoidable crisis in which growing populations, shrinking arable land, and deteriorating ecosystems combine to worsen both rural poverty and national food dependence?.

Jega stated further that, ?The imperative of this lecture transcends academic inquiry; it is anchored in the pressing developmental realities confronting Nigeria?s socio-economic fabric.

?The livestock sector occupies a uniquely strategic position within the broader agricultural economy of our nation.

?Contributing an estimated 7 to 9 per cent of agricultural GDP and providing direct and indirect livelihoods to over 20 million Nigerians, this sector is not merely a subset of agriculture?it is a fulcrum upon which rural livelihoods, nutritional security, and inter-regional trade dynamics pivot.

?Yet, despite its undeniable importance and vast latent potential, Nigeria?s livestock sector remains ensnared in a web of deep-seated structural inefficiencies.

These include antiquated production systems, fragmented value chains, weak animal health services, and suboptimal policy coordination across the tiers of government.

?Compounding these challenges is the persistent scourge of violent farmer-herder conflicts, primarily driven by competition over increasingly scarce natural resources, exacerbated by climate change and poor land governance mechanisms.

?This violence, in turn, feeds into broader issues of national insecurity, displacement, and diminished social cohesion, making reform not only an economic necessity but a peace-building imperative.

?Moreover, for far too long, the sector has suffered from chronic underinvestment, both in terms of public sector budgetary allocations and private capital infusion.

?This investment gap is evident in the glaring deficits in key infrastructure, ranging from ranches and grazing reserves to cold chains, animal feed mills, veterinary, research institutes, laboratories, and livestock market systems.?

Jega therefore said, ?Modernising and commercialising the livestock sector is not a luxury?it is a national imperative. It holds the power to nourish our population, stabilise fragile regions, unlock hidden economic value, and restore the dignity of rural livelihoods?.

Also speaking, the chairman Senate committee on Agriculture Production Services and Rural Development, who is also Senator representing Kwara central senatorial district of the state in the National Assembly, Senator Mustapha, lauded Professor Jega for positively impacting the livestock development in the country.

He said that Professor Jega?s impactful delivery on the topic would assist the youths to take on livestock initiatives that would advance the socio-economic development of the country.

Mustapha stated further that he has empowered 200 poultry farmers with 200 chicks in his senatorial district to boost food production in the state.

He, however, promised to initiate more policies capable of adding value to the people of the Kwara central senatorial district and the state in general in order to improve the well-being of the people.

Earlier, in her welcome address, the Dean of Social Sciences faculty, Professor Adedoyin Omeda, said the topic for this year, ?The political economy of livestock development in Nigeria: challenges and prospects,? was informed by the rising economic and security problems.

She described Jega as a bridge between academia and transformative public service.

Also, in his opening remarks, the UNILORIN Vice-Chancellor, Professor Wahab Egbewole, through the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management Services), Professor Fawole Adisa, said the topic for this year?s personality lecture was the school?s declarative support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu?s Renewed Hope Agenda, saying: ?Professor Attahiru Jega is the best choice for the topic.? (The PUNCH)

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