The Federal Government has restated its plan to put women at the centre of Nigeria’s livestock transformation, with the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, describing women as “the backbone of the livestock economy.” He made the statement during a high-level breakfast meeting in Abuja, where he explained that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda has lifted livestock into a national development priority and opened new paths for women to lead, build enterprises, and grow their income. He also praised the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, for her continuous advocacy for women’s empowerment.
Maiha told participants that women are not operating in the background but are “on the front lines” and “the main agenda,” adding that their work, voice, and leadership remain critical. He assured that the Ministry will work closely with AWARFA-N and other partners to expand opportunities in high-value chains such as honey, goats, dairy, and poultry. According to him, “We are here to listen, to support, and to act.”
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Chinyere Ijeoma Akujobi, welcomed participants and repeated that women drive food production, family nutrition, local markets, and value-chain activities. She said the Ministry’s National Livestock Growth and Acceleration Strategy identifies Women and Youth as one of its ten major pillars and announced that the National Presidential Youth and Women Initiatives in Livestock will soon be launched to create thousands of jobs across the 774 LGAs.
In her presentation of AWARFA-N’s five-year strategy, Victoria Madedor shared the organisation’s plan to become the top platform for supporting women’s investment and business development in animal resources and agribusiness. She listed sustainability, capacity building, access to finance, value-chain development, technology, and advocacy as the pillars of the 2025–2029 strategy and called for stronger support in areas like access to land, climate-smart tools, and feed-production skills.
Delivering a goodwill message for AU-IBAR, Dr. Sarah Ossiya pushed for deliberate inclusion of women in livestock systems. She warned that undernutrition cuts Africa’s GDP by up to 10 percent and noted that “when you feed animals right, you feed people right,” urging more financing and land-use reforms to fully unlock women’s potential.
