In a bid to advance people-centred policies as advocated by the administration, the secretary for the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, Mallam Abubakar Ibrahim, has undertaken a visit to the Kubwa Abattoir.
The visit which is coming a day after his inauguration, he said, is to enable him have first hand assessment of the state of the abattoir which he noted needs to be standardised to operate in line with standards befitting of the status of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He said: “We will ensure that the livestock sector ran effectively to meet the increasing demand for beef-cow meat.
“We will invest in animal genetics, in artificial insemination and modenise our abattoirs in the FCT, ” he stated.
The secretary revealed that the livestock sector constitutes a significant part of the agriculture sector contributing around 1.7 percent to Nigerian Gross Domestic Product and about nine percent to the agricultural value chain.
He also expressed concern over the state of facilities and services at Kubwa slaughter slabs, envisioning proper and modern abbatior and meat haulage system.
Abubaka said the visit was part of efforts by the FCTA to ensure the availability of meat for the FCT populace, adding that
the minister of state, Dr Ramatu Tijani Aliyu, had expressed concerns over the state of facilities and services at the various slaughter slabs across the FCT.
Addressing butchers he said: “As you are aware, the whole world is grappling with the devastating effects of diseases and we can’t afford to expose our people to the risk of the diseases.
“We have to start making changes to ensure that we upgrade our facilities with focus on enforcement and hygienic practices.”
