FG explores donkey value chain devt

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, through the Department of Animal Husbandry Services, is exploring the development of donkey value chain to attract investors. At a stakeholder’s engagement on the promotion and development of donkey value chain, the stakeholders identified challenges facing donkey breeding. A statement issued on Wednesday said participants discussed ways to develop massive sustainable production of donkeys and identify interventions to support existing and prospective donkey farmers in the country. In his address, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Abdulkadir Mu’azu, represented by the Director, Special Duties in the ministry, Mrs Fausat Lawal, stated that donkeys had received little or no attention from the government compared to other classes of livestock. According to hum, the animals are essential to the livelihood and resilience of many communities. To address this concern, and avert possible extinction of donkeys in Nigeria, he said the 43rd Regular Meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development held in April 2019, approved the establishment of Donkey Value Chain in the Department of Animal Husbandry Services. “It is envisaged that this move will draw more attention from a wide range of stakeholders including government, development partners and the private sector towards research, development and investment in the breeding and multiplication of donkeys,” he said. Mu’azu added that donkeys were one of the ancient domesticated livestock valued in particular for their ability to survive under harsh conditions and also important for rural transportation and farming particularly in the northern part of the country. He noted that the animals supported the livelihoods of the rural population in many domestic chores. Mu’azu pointed out that Nigeria was one of the countries with a relatively large population of donkey estimated at about 974,499, which can be attributed to the cross border movements by pastoral herdsmen from Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali and Cameroon.

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He stated that the stakeholders’ engagement had become imperative due to the emergence of large-scale global trading in donkey skins, with estimates of a minimum of 1.8 million donkey skins being traded annually, especially in Africa, and 10 million per annum globally. According to him, there is an urgent need to create awareness on the possible extinction of donkey in Nigeria without matching production with increasing demands. “A thriving trade in donkey skins for export to China for the production of gelatine used in a Traditional Chinese Medicine has become a serious threat to the donkey population in Nigeria and Africa which is tending towards extinction,” he said. The permanent secretary assured that the engagement would lead to actionable resolutions for increased production, productivity and conservation to avert the extinction of donkey in Nigeria. In her remarks, the Acting Director of the Department of Animal Husbandry Services, Mrs Winnie Lai-Solarin, appreciated the stakeholders for creating time out of their busy schedules to be part of the meeting. Punch