By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani says his administration aims to position the state as the agricultural and livestock capital of Northern Nigeria as part of efforts to boost food production, rural income and agribusiness development.The governor made the remarks during the launch of a livestock intervention programme benefiting 5,000 farmer cooperatives across the state’s 23 local government areas.
Represented by Deputy Governor Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, Sani said the initiative reflects the government’s commitment to transforming Kaduna into a centre of innovation, productivity and inclusive growth in agriculture.
As part of the intervention, the state distributed 500 solar-powered freezers with panels, inverters and batteries, 300 feed milling machines, 3,000 bags of poultry feed and 200,000 day-old chicks to organised farmer cooperatives. According to the governor, the programme targets 5,000 farmers organised into cooperatives of 10 members each, with the aim of improving productivity, reducing losses and expanding income opportunities, particularly for women and youth involved in the livestock value chain.
Sani noted that the state has also undertaken several livestock development initiatives, including rehabilitation of abattoirs and slaughter slabs, construction of veterinary clinics and boreholes in pastoral communities, and deployment of mobile veterinary services.
He added that vaccination campaigns have protected hundreds of thousands of livestock, while additional support such as residue crushers, fodder choppers and pasture demonstration fields has been provided to improve feed availability and animal nutrition.The governor said the livestock programme complements broader agricultural initiatives such as the **Tallafin Noma (A Koma Gona)** scheme and seasonal farming empowerment programmes designed to support thousands of smallholder farmers.
