$2.5bn FDI: NIRSAL Backs Livestock Value Chain Actors To Develop Capacity

BY COBHAM NSA – Focused on positioning Nigeria as a leading supplier of quality beef to domestic and global markets, NIRSAL Plc, with support from the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, has launched a Feedlot Management Training Programme (FMTP) to boost growth in the sector.

The programme is preparing the country’s livestock value chain actors to tap into the $2.5 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) deal recently sealed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with Global meatpacking giants, JBS.

The first cohort of the training held in Abuja recently comes at a critical moment when Nigeria is stepping into the spotlight as a global meat investment destination of choice.

The JBS partnership will see six modern meat processing plants built across the country, with two dedicated to beef, ushering in increased demand for premium feedstock from local producers.

Founded in 1953 in Anápolis, Goiás, with its headquarters in São Paulo, JBS S.A. is a Brazilian multinational company and the largest meat processing enterprise in the world.

It produces factory processed beef, chicken, salmon, sheep, pork, and also selling by-products from the processing of these meats.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIRSAL Plc, Mr Sa’ad Hamidu, who laid out the programme’s strategic intent at the opening session, said, “This is not just another training; it is a targeted intervention aimed at creating bankable agri-businesses by improving feed formulation practices, reducing input waste, and optimizing livestock finishing cycles for increased market value.”

According to him; “As it is, we are preparing Nigerian livestock producers to feed not just the nation, but the world. And this aligns directly with the Federal Government’s vision for an agriculturally empowered, export-ready nation.”

He said among other accomplishments, the programme targets the production of export-grade meat in Nigeria, while improving the productivity and profitability of the producers.

Though the $2.5 billion deal with JBS is the most notable in the series of investments bound for Nigeria’s livestock sub-sector, it is not the only one with available information indicating that local companies like ABIS Group are also making significant investments in the meat value chain, creating further demand for high-quality feedstock.

Participants in the first cohort of the training were drawn from the Ministry of Livestock Development, the Agric Department of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), and the National Association of Cattle Dealers, Processors & Marketers of Nigeria (NACDPMAN).

Also participating were members of the Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AUFCDN), as well as Maidoki Farms Ltd, among others.

In his remarks, the Director of Ranch and Pastoral Resources Development in the Ministry of Livestock Development, Shekamang Ayuba, himself a participant, praised the training as “eye-opening and apt”, urging that it should be organized nationwide.

Rich in potential, Nigeria’s livestock sector, which, over the years has been hampered by outdated practices, poor-quality feed, and limited financing, now stands on the brink of genuine transformation.

NIRSAL’s intervention aims to unlock the full potential of the sub-sector by addressing structural gaps through a blend of: Technical capacity-building; Risk-sharing incentives for lenders; End-to-end value chain support; and Strategic public-private collaborations.

Established in 2013 as a dynamic non-bank financial institution wholly-owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), NIRSAL is tasked with transforming Nigeria’s agriculture by de-risking the sector and deploying innovations to make it more attractive to commercial finance.

To date, it has facilitated over N250 billion into agricultural value chains, and continues to redefine agriculture-related credit risk, improve credit flow, and drive agribusiness development in Nigeria.