The Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) on Monday engaged stakeholders in Sokoto State on livestock development priorities and potential implementation risks.
Speaking with journalists in Sokoto, the State Project Coordinator of L-PRES, Mr Sirajo Abubakar, said the engagement was part of the project’s mandate to strengthen implementation outcomes nationwide.
Abubakar explained that stakeholders’ input would help identify additional intervention areas and appropriate measures needed to achieve the project’s objectives.
“As we are aware, L-PRES is a six-year World Bank-supported project with the development objective of improving productivity, commercialization and resilience of selected livestock value chains.
“The project also seeks to strengthen the country’s capacity to respond to eligible crises and emergencies.
“Therefore, engaging field stakeholders is critical to advancing our mandate and complementing the project’s objectives,” he said.
The coordinator emphasized that the Sokoto State Government, under the leadership of Gov. Ahmed Aliyu, has continued to prioritize agriculture in line with its nine-point SMART agenda.
He commended the L-PRES national office for initiating the stakeholder engagement, describing it as timely, and urged participants to contribute meaningfully towards developing an effective action plan.
Abubakar also appreciated the state government for its sustained support for the project in the state.
Also speaking, Mr Ebruke Esike, Executive Director of Global Peace Development, said the engagement was aimed at improving L-PRES operational procedures and implementation planning.
“This initiative is designed to engage stakeholders in the livestock industry to identify appropriate measures for storage, processing and marketing logistics.
“We are also working to develop grievance redress mechanisms within the sector, as well as procedures for effective stakeholder engagement throughout the project lifecycle, including monitoring, feedback and performance indicators,” he said.
Esike added that the engagement would collect data from 12 states across the country’s geo-political zones to develop a comprehensive stakeholder engagement framework for L-PRES and other organizations with similar mandates.
According to him, the document would strengthen investment in livestock production and contribute to economic growth at both state and national levels.
Earlier, the Chairman of the State Butchers Association, Abdullahi Mujinyawa, commended L-PRES for organizing the meeting, saying it would create opportunities to address long-standing challenges faced by stakeholders in the sector.
