Kaduna Moves to Sustain Year round Livestock Feed Supply

The Kaduna State Government says it is working to ensure year-round availability of quality livestock feed as part of efforts to sustain gains recorded in the dairy sector.

The government said interventions from the five-year Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria, ALDDN, programme would be incorporated into its livestock development plans.

The Managing Director of Kaduna Ranch Development Company, Dr Ibrahim Yusuf, disclosed this at the ALDDN close-out event in Zaria.

Yusuf said feed availability remained a major challenge for livestock producers. He said the state was addressing the issue through pasture development and the rehabilitation of grazing reserves.

He added that the company had started developing 110 hectares of the 600-hectare Damau grazing reserve in Kubau Local Government Area to produce quality livestock feed.

Yusuf said the initiative would involve collaboration with programmes and institutions, including the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project and the National Animal Production Research Institute.

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Murtala Mohammed-Dabo, represented by the Director of Livestock Services, Amwe Akos, said the state would continue successful ALDDN interventions through existing and future livestock programmes.

Akos said some of the initiatives had already been included in the proposed 2027 state budget.

The Managing Partner of Sahel Consulting Agriculture and Nutrition, Temi Adegoroye, said ALDDN was designed to support 15,000 dairy households and 120,000 beneficiaries across seven states.

He said the programme focused on improving dairy production, supporting women farmers, strengthening market access and improving access to finance and technical services.

The Ardo of Zazzau, Abubakar Sadiq Umar, also called for stronger grazing reserves and the revival of cattle routes to improve access to grazing resources and support milk production.