•Lauds Governor’s bold push to make state livestock hub

The Plateau Initiative for Growth and Development (PIGD) has commended Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang for what it described as a visionary and economically strategic intervention in the livestock sector through the groundbreaking of a 500-cattle-per-day ultra-modern abattoir at Pwomol Village, Heipang, and a Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area.

In a statement issued by its National Coordinator, Nengak David, the group said the projects mark a defining moment in the administration’s effort to reposition Plateau State from a producer of raw agricultural commodities to a major agro-industrial and livestock processing hub. PIGD said the intervention, supported by the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support, L-PRES, Programme, speaks directly to the state’s comparative advantage in livestock, animal health services, meat processing, cold-chain development and export opportunities.

According to David, Governor Mutfwang has again demonstrated that governance is not about rhetoric but about building structures that can create jobs, expand revenue, improve food safety and open new economic frontiers for farmers, herders, butchers, transporters, processors, youths and investors across the livestock value chain.

“The groundbreaking of a 500-cattle-per-day ultra-modern abattoir and a Veterinary Teaching Hospital is not an ordinary project. It is a statement of intent. It shows that Governor Mutfwang understands that Plateau cannot continue to sit on huge agricultural and livestock potential without converting it into wealth, jobs and sustainable prosperity for the people,” the statement said.

PIGD noted that the ultra-modern abattoir, described as the largest facility of its kind in the region, would replace crude and unhygienic slaughter practices with a modern, automated and globally competitive meat processing system capable of strengthening public health, expanding market access and attracting private investment.

The group also praised the governor’s vision for the Heipang Special Agro-Processing Zone, saying the initiative would stimulate feed production, cold-room services, meat packaging, leather processing, transportation, veterinary services and other related businesses.

David said the Veterinary Teaching Hospital would further deepen Plateau’s reputation as a centre of excellence in animal health, research and livestock development, while also supporting training, disease control and improved productivity in the sector.

“This is the kind of intervention that creates a real economy. It is the kind of development that touches communities, creates dignity for labour and gives young people a reason to believe that their future can be built at home,” PIGD said.

The group urged the host communities to continue supporting the contractors and government agencies handling the projects to ensure timely completion within the projected period.

PIGD also called on investors, development partners and livestock stakeholders to take advantage of the Mutfwang administration’s renewed focus on agro-processing, saying Plateau is now being positioned as one of Nigeria’s most promising destinations for livestock investment, meat processing and agricultural value addition.

It added that the governor’s intervention was another evidence of an administration quietly but steadily laying the foundation for long-term economic transformation across Plateau State.