Why Nigeria cannot export animal products

The President of the Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), Bello Agaie, says the country is not exporting meat because its products do not meet the basic standard requirements for export.

Mr Agaie said this at a press briefing on the annual summit of the association in Abuja on Thursday.

He said other countries which do not have the number of animals in Nigeria export their products.

Mr Agaie said abattoirs were established to examine and regulate the processing and sale of safe meat but lamented that they do not carry out the responsibilities in Nigeria.

He said improved seeds doctors whose roles are to examine the animals are in limited number in the country

“Some states like Rivers have only a veterinarian in the state,” he said.

“In some abattoirs, you do not have doctors who examine these animals and collect the revenue. All you see are people with little or no knowledge of it collecting the revenue which is of utmost importance to them, rather than human health,” he said.

He spoke on the resolutions by participants at the summit.

“The summit directs full implementation of the veterinary regulations in all states and FCT in the entirety of the ramifications,” Mr Agaie said.

He said the summit also charged all members of the NVMA to be involved and show concerns in situations of an emergency involving animal and man, in line with the ethics of the profession.

“It charged stakeholders to be cautious of the incessant outbreaks of Avian Influenza, urging them to observe global best practices to checkmate diseases in their farms.

“The summit urged investors to help build the capacity of the quarantine services of the country.

“It recommended digitalisation for better data management and accessibility of the reporting system for the nature of diseases in animals.”

Mr Agaie said livestock farming should be adopted to ensure healthier products.

“We need to move away from the traditional livestock farms to the modern farms. Today, it has caught up with us and we are now paying those prices,” he said.
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“There is need to urgently inaugurate the Board of Veterinary Council of Nigeria, the regulatory body of the profession dissolved since 2015,” he said

He acknowledged the effort of the National Assembly in passing bills needed to strengthen the laws governing the profession in the country.

Mr Agaie said the summit appreciates the effort of the federal government at controlling Antimicrobial Resistance,(AMR).

NVMA is the umbrella for veterinary surgeons registered with the Veterinary Council of Nigeria.