No fewer than 279 livestock farmers have received empowerment to advance local dairy production in Mayo-Belwa Local Government Area of Adamawa through Sebore Farm and the Gates Foundation.
Mr Temi Adegoroye, Managing Partner of Sahel Consulting, disclosed this at the close-out ceremony of the six-year programme on Monday in Yola.
He said that within the period, 178 cooperatives were formalised.
According to him, the programme has improved the livelihoods, productivity, nutrition, and empowerment of smallholder women dairy farmers and their communities.
Adegoroye said the objective of the ceremony was to appreciate stakeholders, partners, and team members for their contributions and to strengthen collaboration among participating organisations and stakeholders.
He said there was a need for the state government to take advantage of the opportunity to partner with the farmers in order to sustain some of the programmes for the development of the state.
Nyalas Bartholomew, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Livestock and Aquaculture, called on investors and other stakeholders to partner with the state for livestock development.
He said the ministry had a working document that was processed through the Adamawa State Investment Company.
According to him, the document has contributed to the production of the national livestock document.
“Adamawa has been the first among the 36 states and Abuja to produce a state policy on livestock.
“By this, Adamawa has opened its corridors to welcome partners like Sahel Consulting, Sebore International Farm Limited working with Admiral Yogurt, and many others.
“This is the way to go, to grow the economy through livelihoods, particularly livestock,” he said.
Mr Kabir Abdulmumini, Head of Operations, Sebore Farms, appealed to Sahel Consulting for an extension of their programme.
He said their vision and mission was to encourage more people to key into dairy production in the state and the country at large to help improve the economic development of local farmers in Nigeria.
Ya’u Adamu, who spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries, expressed gratitude for the programme, which he said had brought changes to their lives.
He said the programme assisted them to generate money through dairy production for yogurt.
He added that their children were now in school, while they no longer travel far to feed their animals, among other benefits.
