Nigeria Sets Sights on $74 Billion Livestock Industry by 2030

Nigeria’s livestock industry is being primed for a historic leap, with the federal government projecting its value to more than double from $33 billion to $74 billion by 2030 under the ambitious Nigeria Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy (NL-GAS).

Source: thehumaneleague.org.uk

Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, announced the target while delivering a goodwill message at a high-level policy dialogue convened by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Abuja. He said the initiative aims to transform the sector into a powerhouse of economic growth through innovation, modern infrastructure, and expanded market opportunities.

Maiha stressed that the livestock sector’s success hinges on stronger collaboration between government, financial institutions, and development partners to boost access to finance—especially for women and youth in agribusiness. He warned that rural farmers remain largely locked out of the financial system, citing data from EFInA’s 2023 Access to Finance Survey which shows that while formal financial inclusion in Nigeria rose from 56% in 2020 to 64% in 2023, 28.8 million adults—mostly in rural areas—are still excluded.

According to him, the challenges are rooted in low literacy, inadequate bank and fintech penetration, poor infrastructure, and entrenched socio-cultural barriers. To tackle this, the ministry is expanding interventions to empower 37,000 women and young people through hands-on training, starter assets, and better market access.

The minister urged AfDB and other partners to create financing models that align with the realities of Nigeria’s livestock value chain and to push for policy reforms that will strengthen credit guarantees and support cooperative-based lending. Such measures, he said, are crucial to unlocking the untapped potential of millions of rural livestock farmers and driving the sector toward its 2030 vision.