Kaduna Intensifies Efforts to Ensure Year-Round Supply of Quality Livestock Feed
The Kaduna State Government has identified the year-round production of quality livestock feed as a key strategy for sustaining the gains recorded in the state’s dairy sector under the five-year Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria (ALDDN) programme.
The government said lessons and interventions from the programme would be incorporated into its livestock development framework to ensure continuity after the programme’s close-out, with improved pasture development and the revitalisation of grazing reserves expected to strengthen feed availability for livestock producers.
The Managing Director of Kaduna Ranch Development Company Ltd., Dr Ibrahim Yusuf, disclosed this on Wednesday at the ALDDN state-level close-out event in Zaria.
Yusuf said the company was already integrating lessons from the programme into the state’s sustainability framework, particularly in the areas of livestock feed production and dairy productivity.
He identified the availability of quality feed throughout the year as one of the major constraints facing livestock production, noting that ALDDN had introduced interventions to address the challenge.
According to him, Kaduna State would build on those interventions through the revitalisation of grazing reserves and improved pasture development.
He disclosed that the Kaduna Ranch Development Company was currently developing 110 hectares of the 600-hectare Damau grazing reserve in Kubau Local Government Area for the production of high-quality livestock feed.
“Of the 600 hectares grazing reserve, the company has started working on 110 hectares for the production of high-quality feeds for livestock in the state,” he said.
Yusuf explained that the initiative formed part of the state’s sustainability framework and would involve collaboration with key stakeholders, including the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) and the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI).
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Murtala Mohammed-Dabo, represented by the Director of Livestock Services, Mr Amwe Akos, said the state government would sustain the key gains recorded under ALDDN by integrating successful interventions into existing and future livestock development programmes.
Akos disclosed that some of the initiatives had already been captured in the state’s proposed 2027 budget, signalling the government’s intention to continue supporting interventions that have contributed to the development of the local dairy sector.
The Managing Partner of Sahel Consulting Agriculture and Nutrition Ltd., Mr Temi Adegoroye, said ALDDN was designed to reach 15,000 dairy households and 120,000 beneficiaries across Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Adamawa and Taraba states.
He said the five-year programme, funded by the Gates Foundation and implemented by Sahel Consulting in partnership with state governments and dairy processors, built on the Nigerian Dairy Development Programme and was designed to promote a vibrant and inclusive local dairy sector.
According to Adegoroye, the programme focused on improving productivity, nutrition, empowerment and livelihoods among smallholder women dairy farmers through processor-led interventions tailored to the needs of participating communities.
He said the programme also sought to create an enabling environment for local milk sourcing, increase demand for locally produced milk, improve farmers’ access to technical support and inputs, raise the incomes of women dairy farmers and strengthen nutrition among dairy households and communities.
Adegoroye added that ALDDN strengthened collaboration between government and private-sector stakeholders while promoting financial inclusion among women dairy farmers through partnerships with financial institutions that provided access to financial services and alternative income opportunities.
He said the programme also supported dairy infrastructure through solar-powered boreholes, milk cans, collection points, parlours and milk evacuation vehicles, while working with governments and dairy companies on policy advocacy to strengthen local sourcing of raw milk.
The Managing Director of SAJ Foods Ltd., Alhaji Sanusi Abdullahi, said ALDDN had strengthened linkages among farmers, cooperatives, processors, government institutions, communities and development partners.
According to him, the programme contributed to improvements in dairy productivity, market access, farmer organisation and financial inclusion, while creating greater opportunities for women in dairy-producing communities.
In his remarks, the Ardo of Zazzau, Abubakar Sadiq Umar, called for the strengthening of grazing reserves and the revival of cattle routes to improve access to grazing resources and enhance milk productivity among herders.
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