The Ekiti State Government is committed to harnessing opportunities in the livestock value chain to promote economic growth and development in the state.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Ebenezer Boluwade, said Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s administration is committed to rebranding and restructuring the state’s livestock sector for greater productivity and economic gains.
He spoke while declaring open a training session in Ado-Ekiti for processors, butchers and other stakeholders on animal waste management in abattoirs and abattoirs. The training was organized by the State Coordination of the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES).
Boluwade said the program was designed to improve hygiene in slaughterhouses and create wealth from animal waste.
He noted that the project, which targets around 1.3 million beneficiaries across the country, would strengthen food security and encourage peaceful coexistence in the state.
According to him, “it is imperative to implement proper waste management to maintain the highest level of hygiene as everything is ready for the construction of our ultra-modern abattoir to begin and three mini-slaughterhouses are also being built in the state.
“I firmly believe that this training will give participants a better understanding of how to convert some of these wastes such as blood, guts into feed, excrement and manure into manure, etc.
“All of this contributes to balancing the ecosystem and creating wealth from waste. Your role as ranchers is to add value to the livestock value chain through good animal husbandry practices and at the same time give a boost to the economy of our State by taking advantage of the economic values of the livestock subsector.”
The State Coordinator of the L-PRES Project, Olayinka Adedipe, represented by the Livestock Officer, Muyiwa Adelodun, said the training is aimed at helping participants understand modern livestock breeding, processing and waste management.
He explained that animal waste such as blood, bones and fat generated in slaughterhouses must be handled and used properly.
“Blood makes up 60 percent of animal waste, an average cow can have up to 25 liters of blood. The operation is centralized in Ado where we slaughter at least sixty animals a day, imagine the volume of such waste and therefore the need for this training so that it can be handled properly,” he said.
READ ALSO TOP STORIES OF Newslodge