Gov. Uba Sani of Kaduna has been commended for his strong support of the ‘Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (L-PRES)’ project.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that it is a World Bank initiative aimed at enhancing the livestock value chain in the state.
In a statement, Dr Salisu Hashim, the state coordinator of L-PRES, lauded Sani for providing the necessary policy backing and counterpart funding to ensure the project’s success.
Hashim highlighted the governor’s role in distributing essential equipment, including fodder choppers, residue crushers and tricycles to sedentary pastoralist communities and clusters identified by the project.
He further revealed that L-PRES had upgraded four grazing reserves in the state by installing solar-powered boreholes, securing land and supplying seeds for animal feed cultivation.
These interventions, he said, would help to mitigate farmer-herder conflicts while boosting milk production in cattle.
The L-PRES coordinator also pointed out that the project had equipped the National Livestock Transformation Program (NLTP) at the Laduga grazing reserve, with a baling machine, mower, and other key livestock-processing tools.
Hashim added that L-PRES had strengthened veterinary services in the state, training veterinarians and other livestock service providers on disease surveillance.
He stated that no fewer than 2,000 livestock farmers had benefited from capacity-building programmes on disease prevention, control, and market linkage strategies, improving productivity across the sector.
Hashim disclosed that the project had donated 450,000 doses of anthrax vaccines to the state ministry of agriculture, enabling free vaccinations against anthrax and other transboundary animal diseases.
He also acknowledged the contributions of the agriculture commissioner, Murtala Dabo, whose leadership has ensured the seamless implementation of L-PRES initiatives in alignment with the state’s broader agricultural development goals.
Hashim said that to address grievances and ensure stakeholder engagement, L-PRES had established a ‘conflict resolution and grievance redress committee’ to handle concerns from individuals and communities affected by the project.
He reaffirmed the project’s commitment to sustaining livestock development efforts in the state, emphasising that Sani’s continued support was instrumental in transforming the sector.
