- Safiu Kehinde
In said effort to drive international and local investment in livestock sector, the Federal Government has strike partnership deal with Brazilian meat processing firm, JBS S.A.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to the statement, the partnership with the Brazilian firm, considered as one of the top three largest meat processing companies globally, is part of President Bola Tinubu renewed focus to end the crisis of farmer-herder clashes, eradicate hunger and poverty in Nigeria as well as promote economic prosperity through international and local investments into livestock sector of the agricultural value-chain.
Tinubu reinstated this on Thursday in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil at the signing of a Letter of Intent between the Nigerian Government and the JBS S.A.
“What we are doing right now is that we are solving a problem that afflicted humanity in that part of Africa, clashes between farmers and migrating cows that have caused some life and bloodshed when there is a modern, civilized way to solve those problems and even bring a successful economy out of it.
“We are trying to turn a situation of tragedy, hopelessness into economic opportunity, see through problems and see the opportunity that is involved in it.” Tinubu said.
He urged the company to see the considerable potentials in what he called the $2.5billion livestock investment opportunities in Nigeria, especially with its huge population and tap into it, given JBS S.A’s globally recognized expertise in the area of guaranteeing food security.
“We’ve heard so much about you in terms of the reputation, and we believe in the partnership we are forging today.
“Food security is extremely important. As we talk right now, there is hunger. However, there is huge hope. And you are one of those hopes that we are looking at.” The President said.
Tinubu further assured the JBS top executives of Nigeria’s readiness to do business with them with a good return on their investment.
Prior to his visit to Brazil, the President had, according to the statement, commissioned a team of Nigerian officials and private sector players to take the advantage of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Rio to conduct a study tour of Sao Paulo, Brazil and explore the opportunities in livestock development, meat processing, seed development and multiplication for key grains.
In his remarks, the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Muhktar Mahia, who led the delegation, reported to the President that the team embarked on guided, extended and intensive tours of companies on the scale of their global reach, the integrated nature of their operations as well as the deployment of advanced technology.
He added that from their interactions with various companies, JBS S.A. was chosen being the second largest meat processing company in the world with the capacity to process 33,000 cattle daily and over eight million birds daily, using advanced zero-waste practices.
The company reportedly employs over 200,000 people across its subsidiaries in more than 50 countries in the world including United States, Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia among others.
On his part, JBS group’s founder and President of the , Wesley Batista, , said the company is the largest employer of labour in Brazil with over $79 billion dollars revenue already in year 2024.
He expressed his delight to work with Nigeria, stressing that it is a good opportunity for their business as well Nigeria and Africa.
“We are glad to work with Nigeria to work together to develop the livestock industry there. We think it’s a good opportunity for our business in Nigeria and Africa as we believe Nigeria can be the center of supply of protein to many countries in Africa.
“We look forward to working with you. We are almost in December and this year is almost gone. We hope to be in Nigeria as soon as possible,” the founder and Chief Executive said.
Other members of the delegation included Minister of State Agriculture and Food Security Hon. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, Co-chairman Presidential Livestock Reform Committee, Professor Attahiru Jega, the Secretary of the Committee, Professor Mohammed Kuta Yahya, and the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Investment Promotion Council, Aisha Rimi.