No fewer than 23.3 million animals were vaccinated against major livestock diseases nationwide by the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (L-PRES) Project under the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development.
Diseases targeted include Anthrax, Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), and Newcastle disease.
The vaccinations covered more than 10 million cattle, 9.1 million goats and sheep, and over 4.1 million poultry birds across 20 participating states.
The World Bank-supported project, funded with about $500 million over six years, has also established a 40-million-dose strategic vaccine storage facility in Abuja and expanded the National Veterinary Research Institute’s (NVRI) annual vaccine production capacity from 150 million to 850 million doses.
As part of efforts to address farmer-herder conflicts, the project has constructed or rehabilitated nearly 400 water points and protected over 1,130 kilometres of stock routes. Sustainable land management practices now cover about 140,000 hectares of grazing land.
The project has reached more than 388,000 farmers, with over 101,000 adopting improved livestock technologies. It has directly impacted over 1.44 million Nigerians, including more than 546,000 women.
Dr Menniviel Sene, World Bank Task Team Leader, who spoke at the end of the project’s Mid-Term Review in Abuja, urged stakeholders to accelerate implementation to ensure sustainable benefits for livestock farmers and rural communities.
On his part, National Project Coordinator, Dr Sanusi Abubakar, said 1,492 farmers have benefited from expanded artificial insemination services, with over 3,489 cattle inseminated to improve livestock breeding and genetics.
He explained that all 20 participating states have established One Health platforms to strengthen collaboration among animal health, public health, and environmental institutions.
He said the project has also supported the construction of seven model veterinary hospitals, three of which have been completed and commissioned, while 13 others are under construction.
According to Dr. Abubakar, the project is strengthening livestock research, feed systems, and productivity infrastructure nationwide.
“The rehabilitation of the National Feed Reference Laboratory at the University of Ibadan has been completed, while new laboratories are being developed at Nasarawa State University, Keffi, and Umudike in Abia State.
“The project has also upgraded facilities at the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI), Zaria, including seed multiplication centres, hay barns, boreholes, and water systems,” he said.
The project has also recorded strong female participation, with more than 181,000 women directly benefiting from interventions.
He said “access to extension services among women livestock owners reached 185 per cent of the project target, while access to veterinary services achieved 120 per cent.
“In addition, 54 slaughter facilities have been renovated using climate-smart standards, while over 63 livestock infrastructure facilities have been rehabilitated nationwide”.
The Mid-term review data also showed improvements in livestock productivity, with annual milk production per cow rising from 274.5 litres to 375.9 litres, while cattle carcass weight increased from 135kg to 160kg. Sheep production also rose significantly from 14.22kg to 21.43kg.
Veteran journalist and recipient of A.B.C Yola, Reporter of the Year Award (1997), Hassan Umar Shallpella, works with WAP as a Regional Correspondence. He was trained at Institute of Mass Communication and Technology Jos and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Training School Lagos.He was a News desk Editor and a Correspondent at the Punch newspaper and till 2019, was the Deputy Editor ofThe Scope newspaper.
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