How Lagos State Spends Estimated N5 Billion on Red Meat Daily

• A group has exposed how many opportunities in the livestock industry remain to be explored in South West Nigeria
• The region accounts for the highest consumption of red meat in Nigeria, with Lagos leading the pack
• Unfortunately, the region has remained consumers without playing any crucial role in the livestock production value chain

Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

Lagos state accounts for the highest consumption of red meat in Nigeria, with an estimated 7,000 cows consumed in the state daily.

This gives the state about 70% of the entire 10,000 to 11,000 cows consumed in South-West Nigeria every day.

These figures were disclosed by the Director General of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, Dr. Seye Oyeleye, during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Growth & Development Foundation (AGDF) in Osun state.

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Oyeleye noted that an estimated 10,000 cows are consumed daily in the SouthWest region daily, with Lagos state accounting for about 70% of the numbers.

Recent data from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) also shows that Lagos state is the most populated state in Nigeria, and hosts the highest number of NIN holders.

South-west is the highest livestock consumer

The DAWN DG noted that the southwest region is the highest consumer of livestock products in Nigeria, earning a place of importance in a global livestock industry that is valued at $10 billion annually.

Oyeleye explained that even with a conservative estimate of N400,000 per cow, it would translate into N4 billion daily spent on red meat in Lagos, and could amount to over N80 billion spent monthly.

Recall that a recent ranking estimates Lagos state Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio to be about $259 Billion, the second largest in Africa.

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He lamented however that 99% of the livestock consumed daily is sourced from outside the region, while businesses within the region play different roles across the value chain.

DAWN Commission is charged with implementing and ensuring sustainable development in South West Nigeria, and according to Oyeleye, this also means encouraging the region to not just be consumers but to enter production.

He said;

“We recognize that we possess the arable land and the necessary technology. What remains is to create incentives for those interested in entering the livestock farming sector. Several state governments in the southwest are already taking steps to address this issue.”

Advancing the sector would not only increase the production of milk, meat, and poultry but also improve employment opportunities for the people in the region.

To achieve this, the DAWN commission delivered a ten-year livestock development plan to different state governments in the Southwest, the Nation reports.

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The MOU aimed to implement the COLDET (Community-Led Development Toolkit) project. Oyeleye explained that the initiative is to stimulate communities to identify their assets and opportunities and take advantage of them.

Lagos state emerges second-largest economy in Africa

In related news, Lagos state, Nigeria has ascended to the number two position in the list of Africa's largest economies.

This push was triggered by several commercial activities in the small state, including the recent one from Dangote Petrochemicals Refinery.

There are also major key projections in the LEDU report that projects massive GDP growth till 2027.

Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng