By Fatima Saka
The Special Adviser to the President on Livestock Development, Prof. 
, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Presidential Livestock Reforms Agenda is aimed at transforming Nigeria’s livestock sector from subsistence farming into a commercially viable industry capable of creating jobs and strengthening food security.
Jega, who is also Co-Chair of the Presidential Livestock Reforms Implementation Committee, stated this in a goodwill message delivered on behalf of the Presidency at the 9th All Africa Conference on Animal Agriculture in Abuja.
The conference, themed “Repositioning Animal Agriculture for Africa’s Food Security and Global Competitiveness,” brought together stakeholders in animal agriculture from across Africa.
Represented at the event by Prof. D. J. U. Kalla, Jega said Africa could not achieve sustainable food security, improved nutrition and inclusive economic growth without fundamentally transforming animal agriculture.
He described livestock as an important pillar of Africa’s economy, noting that cattle, sheep, goats, camels and poultry provide food, livelihoods, wealth and resilience for millions of families across the continent.
“Our ambition is to unlock the enormous economic potential—the goldmine—of the livestock sector and build a productive, competitive, climate-resilient and commercially viable industry that creates jobs, strengthens food and nutrition security, and drives rural prosperity,” he said.
Jega stressed the need for Nigeria to move “from subsistence to productivity, from fragmentation to value-chain integration, and from potential to investment and competitiveness.”
He identified genetics, animal health, feed and forage, water, research and innovation, infrastructure, value addition and market development as critical areas requiring increased investment.
According to him, the reforms are designed to transform livestock production into a productive and competitive sector while unlocking opportunities across breeding, animal health, feed production, processing, trade and other areas of the value chain.
Jega urged participants at the conference to move beyond discussions and develop concrete partnerships and measurable commitments capable of translating policies into tangible improvements in the livestock sector.
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“Africa has the livestock resources. Our task is to convert this biological wealth into nutritious food, decent jobs, resilient livelihoods and globally competitive enterprises,” he said.
He added that “Africa must feed Africa—and animal agriculture must be at the fulcrum of that transformation.”
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