A multi-stakeholders’ workshop held on August 20 in Lagos has raised the alarm over Nigeria’s food sovereignty in the face of a proposed $2.5 billion industrial animal farming investment by global meat giant JBS S.A.

The Investment aims to establish six large-scale facilities across Nigeria.

JBS plans to leverage Ogun and Niger states as key operational hubs, with official government backing to provide the necessary economic, sanitary, and regulatory environment.

The event drew a diverse group of stakeholders including government officials, academics, civil society actors, grassroots farmers, environmental groups, private sector players, and media representatives from Nigeria and Kenya.

Their discussions spotlighted the far-reaching implications of surrendering Nigeria’s agricultural landscape to large multinational corporations, particularly one with a notorious record of environmental degradation and social controversies.

The forum frowned at corporate-controlled food systems that threaten to wipe out indigenous food value chains.

The participants warned that Nigeria faces a looming threat of “industrial food colonialism,” whereby foreign multinational firms like JBS could dominate the country’s food production, undermining the autonomy of millions of smallholder farmers who currently supply approximately 70 per cent of the nation’s food.

JBS’s history paints a gloomy picture: the corporation has been implicated in large-scale Amazon deforestation, emissions of over 70 million tons of greenhouse gases, human rights violations, and persistent tax evasion.

These concerns amplify fears that Nigeria’s agricultural future risks subjugation to corporate profit-driven models disconnected from local needs.

The workshop queried the massive land acquisition as land grabbing with extractive intentions.

The scale of land JBS requires is worrisome and suspicious as Niger State has reportedly pledged 1.2 million hectares, potentially among the largest single land grabs by a corporation in Africa.

The workshop noted that most of the meat products are earmarked for export, benefitting global markets rather than addressing food security or improving nutritional standards within Nigeria.

The arrangement is thus criticized as essentially extractive and neo-colonial, prioritizing foreign corporate gain over national food sovereignty and community wellbeing.

Industrial animal farming also poses significant environmental risks.

The participants noted that threats like water and soil pollution, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and intensifying greenhouse gas emissions were imminent and should be averted.

These effects could strain local resources, compromising long-term ecological balance.

Public health concerns were front and center: increased incidence of zoonotic diseases, antibiotic resistance, and food contamination risks are well documented in factory farming contexts.

Also, the proliferation of highly-processed meats, known for poor nutritional profiles, threatens Nigerians’ diet quality and health outcomes.

The workshop observed that the scale and nature of industrial operations may forcibly displace smallholder farmers, disrupting traditional farming practices that have sustained communities for generations. Impacts on indigenous food systems and cultural dietary customs raise serious social equity and food justice issues.

Despite the enormity of JBS’s investment, stakeholders criticized the apparent absence of requisite Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), lack of Social Impact Assessments, and deficient community consultation during the project’s approval stages.

According to them, this opacity fosters fears of large-scale social displacement, environmental harm, and regulatory capture without meaningful public engagement or accountability.

The workshop stoutly opposed JBS’s operations and any similar industrial animal farming ventures that threaten Nigeria’s indigenous food sovereignty and ecological sustainability.

Participants called for agroecological, farmer-led food systems rooted in local empowerment, preservation of indigenous knowledge, and prioritization of sustainable, culturally appropriate food production.

The workshop demanded immediate revocation of government approvals granted to JBS in light of its environmentally destructive and socially disruptive history.

Categorical rejection of industrial animal farming models, replaced by investments supporting smallholder farmers through enabling policies, financial support, and infrastructure development.

The forum demanded mandatory, transparent, and independent Environmental and Social Impact Assessments with widespread community participation for any large-scale agricultural projects.

It called for the promotion of local food systems and consumption of culturally resonant, nutritious foods to preserve Nigeria’s indigenous food heritage.

The forum also called for the implementation of stringent regulations and accountability frameworks targeting multinational corporations to safeguard environmental and community rights.

It demanded academic and research institutions to intensify studies on agroecological practices and expose industrial farming’s true toll on health and environment.

The workshop also demanded continued civil society and media vigilance to educate the public and monitor corporate activities linked to industrial farming.

The participants called for international development partners to support Nigeria’s transition away from corporate-controlled food systems towards sustainable, farmer-led agriculture.

They demanded recognition by policymakers that genuine food sovereignty is impossible under corporate domination but achievable through community control of seeds, land, and food production.

The workshop lamented that the development is against national intetest: Nigeria must choose between maintaining a sustainable, sovereign food system controlled by millions of smallholder farmers or succumbing to an industrial, extractive model governed by foreign corporate interests.

“Our decisions today will shape whether Nigeria’s food system serves its people or multinational profits,” the stakeholders lamented.

The concluding reflection echoed an indigenous wisdom: “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”

As Nigeria charts its agricultural path forward, the voices gathered call for a people-first approach rooted in environmental stewardship, social justice, and food sovereignty.