Nigeria’s inability to tap into the livestock market was due to the absence of a robust system to track and monitor livestock movement and health status. This is according to Muritala Alade-Bamgbala the Chief Executive Officer of Protein Trail Technology, a government solution-focused firm with the aim of sanitising Nigeria’s meat value chain. He, therefore , called for the leveraging of technology to tap into the livestock export market.
Mr Alade-Bamgbala said digitisation could be used to track and monitor the entire history of livestock to ensure a safer food system. According to him, digital solutions will provide established institutions with access to the history of the livestock they wish to purchase.
“The livestock sector is crucial to Nigeria’s economy, contributing significantly to the country’s gross domestic product. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development estimates that the livestock sub-sector contributes about one-third of the 21 per cent of the GDP. “However, the sector’s potential has not been fully maximised due to various challenges. The sector’s growth is hindered by lack of transparency and traceability,” said Mr Alade-Bamgbala.
He noted that in Nigeria, livestock certification was traditionally done in hard copy, leaving room for counterfeit certificates. He cited examples of Western countries where technology had been successfully leveraged to track livestock history and ensure food safety.
