NAN-AE-5
Farm
By Mohammed Lawal
Zaria (Kaduna State), July 18, 2017 (NAN) The National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI) will require about N5 billion to establish a 600-hectare Integrated Commercial Livestock Farm, says its Director, Prof. Clarence Ayodele-Lakpini.
Ayodele-Lakpini made the disclosure when he presented a paper on proposed farm in Zaria on Wednesday.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the farm project is expected to be executed in collaboration with Fodder Green Technology Ltd., a livestock developer, and some foreign investors.
Ayodele-Lakpini said that the amount, which would cover the National Livestock Training (NALIT 2017), would also be used to provide training halls, hostels, power and water facilities on the model farm.
He said that Prof. Ibrahim Garba, the Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, had approved land for the proposed farm within the university premises.
“The model farm will be for the production of meat, milk, eggs and other animal products to meet international standards.
“The integration aspects of the farm include waste management to produce biogas for domestic use and electricity generation as well as the production of organic fertilisers,” he said.
In his address, the V-C of ABU, Garba, said that the proposed model livestock farm would not only be useful to herdsmen but to the health of the nation and its citizens at large.
He urged herdsmen and farmers to feel free to channel their problems to the university, with a view to getting practical solutions to them.
Garba said that another programme with broader perspectives would be organised to incorporate critical stakeholders.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that representatives of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders’ Association of Nigeria and Youth Assembly Cooperative Society of Nigeria and National Sheep and Goat Development Association of Nigeria, among others, attended the event. (NAN)
KLM/OOK
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