Why we must develop our overlooked livestock value chain – RMRDC
The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) has reminded stakeholders in the agricultural sector about the key role the livestock sector can and is playing in stimulating economic growth through generation of family savings, social integration, as well as employment opportunities.
The Director General of the council, Dr. Ibrahim Hussaini Doko, is of the opinion that collective effort at overhauling the sector will make it economically viable not only to those operating within the sector, but the country at large.
Available statistics show that not only does livestock contribute up to 80 per cent of agricultural domestic products in developing countries, the World Bank classifies it as a high value market and reports that it is the fastest growing agricultural market in most developing countries.
Stakeholders in the sector believe that livestock husbandry is a veritable tool for addressing poverty, enhancing agricultural development and creating employment opportunities beyond an immediate household or smallholder dairy operation.
In 2016, it was estimated that Nigeria had the third largest livestock population in Africa: 19.5 million cattle, 52 million goats and 33 million sheep. Of this, 18.22 million cattle (96 per cent) are owned by semi-nomadic cattle rearers who employ the traditional system of management.
However, despite this number of domestic animals, there is lack of sufficient animal protein in the diet of the average Nigerian. This shortage of protein is one of the greatest problems facing Nigeria today as manifested in the high incidence of infant mortality, malnutrition and other nutritional deficiencies.
The DG said a peep into the by-products of these animals shows that averagely, 64 per cent of the ruminants slaughtered delivered meat for human consumption. The other 36 per cent left is by-products. Most horns and hooves produced by these animals are either thrown away or collected by agents located at abattoirs who sell them cheap to individuals or small business holdings that eventually process them for export. The major industrial use of horns and hooves is for the production of adhesives (soluble gum/glue), hair combs, collar stay, horn plates, photo frames, knife handles, pen holders, jewellery, etc.
“Blood, an inevitable by-product of the livestock industry, represents up to four per cent of the live animal’s weight or six to seven per cent of the lean meat content of the animal. It contains a number of compounds which have potential commercial value and represents a valuable source of protein. Tonnes of blood are collected in abattoirs each year that is either processed into blood meal and sold as low-value animal food and fertiliser or discarded as effluent from slaughterhouses, Dr. Doko noted.
He said bones were mostly discarded leading to huge waste of available resources, but that in developed economies, bones were crushed and processed and converted to valuable products.
Dr. Doko further observed that one of the major problems hindering optimal performance of the livestock and dairy subsector was underdevelopment of indigenous cattle breeds. In Nigeria, there are three main types of indigenous cattle: zebu, muturu, and kuri. The kuri and the zebu are kept mainly for dairy and meat One of the major problems affecting optimal productivity of the breeds is seasonal availability of quantitative and qualitative feeds. Availability of good quality feed (forage/roughage and concentrates) will significantly influence meat and milk production production, while the muturu (the humpless breeds) are not milked and their small size has made pastoralists to widely perceive them as unproductive.
“One of the major problems affecting optimal productivity of the breeds is seasonal availability of quantitative and qualitative feeds. Availability of good quality feed (forage/roughage and concentrates) will significantly influence meat and milk production. Other constraints include poor nutrition of lactating cows, poor productivity status of indigenous cattle breeds due to poor genetic make-up, unorganised fresh milk collection, processing, marketing and lack of national capacity and skills in dairy farming management,” he noted.
As a result of these factors, beef and meat production by local cattle breeds are low.
The DG stated that the above problems reinforced the need to further develop the livestock value chain for increased production and productivity.
To achieve this, he said his council had been involved in the description and mapping of livestock value chains in Nigeria. A key objective is to ensure adherence to global best practices and to increase competitiveness in the subsector.
The council, he said, had intervened to find solution to some of these problems. One of these projects is the establishment of milk collection centres in Adamawa. The project is a collaborative effort between the council and the Adamawa State FADAMA III Project, Adamawa State Agricultural Development and Investment Limited (AADIL), Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH) and Gurin/ Mbamba Fadama Community Associations (FCA) under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
Another major project embarked on by the council is the expansion of the FCT Mini Dairy Plant, Paikon-Kore in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja. The project was initiated by the council in 2006 following observations in one of its numerous technoeconomic studies that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) which falls within an agroecological zone that supports a variety of farming systems has a large cattle population which does not decrease during the dry season because most of the cattle are not moved for transhumance during the dry season.
He said the council also established a Common Facility Centre (CFC) for leather and leather products in Kano. The CFC is established in collaboration with UNIDO, the Kano State Government, NEPC and the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment. The centre consists of components for shoe cluster and hides/skin improvement. The Kano centre is being linked with the Aba Common Facility Centre (CFC) and the Nigerian Institute of Leather and Science Technology (NILEST), Zaria. It is equipped to facilitate, improve and design the productivity and quality of products.
Another area of intervention of the council, according to him, is the upgrading of indigenous technology used for processing kilishi, a well-known sun-dried meat product which undergoes light smoke drying process. Kilishi has over the years gained popularity among Nigerians as a light snack. However, the traditional processing takes two to three days to complete a production cycle. The products are also of low aesthetic quality and limited shelf life.
“Between 2003 and 2005, the council collaborated with a researcher from the University
of Benin and the Wilberforce University, USA, to develop a modern kilishi processing technology which has been well accepted among the people. The processing technology has been improved by incorporating dryers, smoking kilns, unit control measures of inputs and high sanitary conditions to cut production time to less than 10 hours. The equipment is designed to accommodate five or more workers and can generate at least N50 to N75m in the first year of operation,” he said.
Dr. Doko said the council had collaborated with major stakeholders for the development of the National Leather and Leather Product Policy and that the Committee for Drafting/Development of the National Leather and Leather Product Policy has completed its assignment and produced the draft policy. The validation of the policy by all stakeholders took place on January 23, and March 26, 2018, in Sokoto and Aba respectively.
To further develop the sector, the council has developed a Prototype Leather (Hides) Glazing Machine for use by investors. This, he said, became necessary as majority of locally glazed skin leather were being produced using manual methods, in which the tanner used a flat bottomed bottle to repeatedly strike the leather which is placed on a hard surface until the gloss develops. This manual method, apart from being strenuous, labourious and time-consuming, also gives extremely low production rate.
“One of the major efforts of the council is aimed at promoting the Use of Alternative Raw Materials to Reduce or Replace Maize (Corn) in Poultry Diets. The project is a collaborative effort between RMRDC), Winrock International and Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Kwara State. The main goal of the project is to reduce the use of maize (corn) in poultry layer diets from 60 per cent to 10 to 20 per cent by supplementing with alternative raw materials readily available at a cheaper rate in Nigeria. About 60 to 65 per cent of poultry diet is made up of maize. However, maize production in Nigeria is limited and maize is also a staple food source for human consumption. The competition for maize by both humans and livestock has led to scarcity of maize and high prices for the crop. This has resulted in the high cost of poultry feeds thereby increasing the cost of poultry production with subsequent hike in prices for poultry meat and eggs. The major objective diets without detrimental effect on hen performance (feed intake and egg production),” he added.