From Scarcity to Surplus: Inside Nigeria’s Mission to Become West Africa’s Feed Capital
By our correspondent
KANO, NIGERIA — Beneath the February sun in Kano, a city long known for its trans-Saharan trade, a different kind of commerce took shape. The inaugural Nigeria Feed and Fodder Investment and Trade Forum gathered investors, policymakers, and agribusiness operators around a question that has troubled the livestock economy for decades: how does a country with vast land and livestock resources still struggle to feed its animals?For two days, the forum, convened by Welcome2Africa International, moved beyond ceremonial panels. Its focus was practical. Feed accounts for between 60 and 70 percent of livestock production costs in Nigeria. Any attempt to grow the sector must begin there.
Bridging a Billion-Dollar Gap
At the centre of the gathering was a structured “Deal Room,” where pre-screened agribusinesses pitched to investors. The objective was clear: close an estimated one billion dollar investment gap in the feed and fodder subsector. That figure, supported by assessments from the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources, reflects the capital required to modernise a fragmented system and position Nigeria’s livestock industry for long-term growth.The Federal Government’s target is ambitious. Through the National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy, it seeks to expand the livestock economy from about 32 billion dollars to 74 billion dollars within a decade. Central to that expansion is a reliable, year-round feed supply.Organisers described the shift in simple terms. Nigeria has long spoken of potential. It must now demonstrate execution.
Why Kano Matters
Kano’s selection as host city carried weight. The state sits within Nigeria’s northern livestock belt and has served for centuries as a trading hub. Its markets still connect pastoral communities with processors and traders across the region.Yet history alone does not secure investment. Confidence has grown in part because of policy signals from the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, which has advanced a draft National Animal Feed and Fodder Policy. The framework seeks to address long-standing weaknesses in quality control, land access, regulation, and private sector participation.The Ministry has also backed structured livestock systems such as ranching, feedlots, and silage production. These approaches reduce dependence on seasonal grazing and introduce predictability into supply chains.
Feed, Conflict, and Stability
The urgency extends beyond economics. Feed scarcity has contributed to recurring farmer-herder tensions, particularly during the dry season when grazing land shrinks.Winnie Lai Solarin, Director of Ruminants and Monogastric Development at the ministry, noted during discussions that feed constitutes the bulk of animal production costs and remains a driver of instability. Professor Maikano Ari of the Nigeria Feed and Fodder Multi-Stakeholder Platform added that investment in managed grasslands and grazing reserves is now a matter of national interest.The logic is practical. Where fodder is cultivated, stored, and traded as a commodity, livestock production becomes less migratory. Crop farmers, in turn, can supply fodder as an income stream rather than view herders solely as competitors for land.
Innovation on the Ground
On the exhibition floor, technical progress was evident. The National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties approved eight new pasture varieties, the first government-led registrations of this scale in nearly five decades. These include improved grasses such as Brachiaria ruziziensis and Chloris gayana, alongside legumes like Mucuna pruriens and Lablab purpureus.The varieties promise higher yields, improved resilience, and better adaptation to Nigeria’s dry conditions. For smallholders, this reduces risk. For investors, it improves predictability.Equipment manufacturers displayed compact pelleting machines and hay balers designed for small and medium enterprises. Digital platforms aimed to link fodder producers with feedlots, addressing persistent information gaps. Waste-to-wealth technologies drew attention from southern states, where cassava peels and crop residues often go unused despite feed shortages elsewhere.From Dialogue to DealsThe Deal Room produced early commitments. Among them was an agreement between the Commodities Development Initiative and the Benue State Government to develop 1,000 hectares of fodder for export markets, with plans for expansion. Other discussions brought pastoral associations, traders, and investors into structured production arrangements.Such commitments echo similar investment sessions held later in Lagos and Abuja, where agribusiness ventures secured multi-million pound pledges within days. While pledges are not the same as disbursed capital, the format signals a shift toward measurable outcomes.
Continental Implications
Nigeria’s feed ambitions carry regional weight. The African Union has identified feed deficits as a major constraint to livestock productivity across the continent. Under the African Continental Free Trade Area, improved domestic capacity could allow Nigeria to supply neighbouring markets facing similar shortages.The opportunity is clear. Yet obstacles remain. Climate variability threatens rain-fed forage systems. Logistics gaps mean surplus fodder in southern states often fails to reach northern markets. Scaling improved seed adoption requires extension services and financing mechanisms that are still evolving.
A Measured Optimism
As the forum concluded, one point stood out. Nigeria’s livestock transformation will not be delivered by policy statements alone. It will depend on seed systems that function, storage facilities that preserve dry-season supply, transport corridors that link regions, and investors willing to accept long-term horizons.Permanent Secretary Dr. Chinyere Akujobi framed the ambition plainly at a subsequent stakeholders’ meeting. Nigeria possesses the land, livestock population, and human capacity to lead West Africa in feed production. Alignment across sectors must now follow.In Kano, amid signed memoranda and cautious handshakes, the country signalled a new direction. The feed gap that once constrained productivity is being reframed as an investment frontier. Whether Nigeria can translate that promise into sustained output will determine if the journey from scarcity to surplus becomes lasting policy or another unfinished chapter in agricultural reform.
