Talking about cattle without animal feed compounds is like building a hospital without thinking of pharmaceuticals 

By Ayo Akinfe

(1) If you want to know how clueless those around the presidency who came up with the Ruga idea are, you just need to look at the fact that they came up with a insane and fanciful livestock suggestion without a livestock feed plan. It is kind of like building a hospital without having plans to supply it with pharmaceuticals

(2) Animal feed compounds are made up of balanced diets to fatten cattle. They include grains, oilseeds, edible oils and protein substances and are the way that livestock are fed in 2019. Very few cattle live off grass these days but it appears this has not yet dawned on our policy makers at Aso Rock

(3) Grains are the most important component of animal feed compounds. Cattle and sheep for instance need 8kg of grain for every 1kg of meat they produce and pigs about 4kg. The most efficient poultry units need a mere 1.6kg of feed to produce 1kg of chicken

(4) Traditionally, grains included in feed compounds include maize, wheat, oats, barley, and rice. This is then augmented by protein components like cassava meal, soyabean meal, palm oil meal, groundnut oil meal, coconut meal and sunflower seed meal. This is essentially the remains left when these oilseeds are crushed for oil

(5) According to the American Feed Industry Association, as much as between $20bn and $25bn worth of feed ingredients are purchased each year. Now bear in mind Nigeria’s total 2019 budget is a meagre $24bn. So we are sitting on an untapped industry that could generate as much as our annual budget

(6) Across America, the feed industry is one of the most competitive businesses in the agricultural sector and is by far the largest purchaser of US corn. Tens of thousands of farmers with feed mills on their own farms are able to compete with huge conglomerates with national distribution

(7) In agriculture today, the nutritional needs of farm animals are well understood. The nutritional quality of feed is influenced not only by the nutrient content but also by many other factors such as feed presentation, hygiene, digestibility, and effect on intestinal health. Feed additives provide a mechanism through which any nutrient deficiencies can be resolved

(8) In 2019, nobody raises cattle wholly reliant on foraging. That mode of production went out of fashion when man was still a hunter/gatherer roaming the planet. I find it unbelievable that Nigerians are not embarrassed about the fact that they still produce livestock in a nomadic way in the 21st century

(9) Nigeria has all the raw materials to supply animal feed compounds and should have at least 36 massive manufacturing plants nationwide. Ingredients that are all obtainable locally include yam, cassava, maize, millet, sorghum, cocoyam, palm oil meal, soyabean meal, shea nut meal, coconut meal, etc

(10) Any livestock development plan should include the location of an animal feed compounding plant no further away than one hour from a cattle ranch. We should also have laws compelling each state to open at least one feed compounder