The Federal Ministry of Livestock Development is facing severe operational constraints following a complete lack of capital budget releases since 2024. Director of Information and Public Relations, Henrietta Okokon, revealed that the prolonged funding deficit has significantly hampered key projects and targeted interventions, threatening the government’s efforts to leverage the livestock sector as a major driver of national economic growth.
Established by President Bola Tinubu in July 2024 to modernize the nation's livestock value chain, the ministry was created to bolster food security, generate employment, and transform the industry into a globally competitive market. Despite these ambitious goals, fiscal constraints have continued to stall execution. The funding shortfall was previously highlighted during the ministry's 2026 budget defense before the National Assembly, where officials reported operating under severely restricted budgetary allocations.
Even with limited resources, the ministry has managed to push forward localized support programs, distributing 100 heifers each to farmers in Enugu and Delta states alongside carrying out additional interventions in Cross River. Looking ahead, Presidential approval has been secured to expand these programs from 18 to 30 states, ensuring broader geographic inclusion by bringing 10 extra non-Northern states into the national framework.
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These initiatives align with the broader National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy, an aggressive roadmap designed to boost the livestock sector's economic output from $32 billion to $74 billion by 2035. Achieving this transformation will require substantial investments across animal health, breeding, pasture production, and market integration goals that officials stress cannot be realized without timely and reliable capital funding.
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