Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State, on Saturday launched the Kadawa Animal Insemination Center, renovated and equipped by the Kano state Agro-Pastoral Development Project, KSADP, at the cost of over N103 million.
The project also replenished the AI center with five exotic bulls worth N9. 2 million, with the intention to inseminate at least 25, 000 cows annually.
In artificial insemination, semen of bulls of superior quality is collected and used to inseminate females to conceive offspring with desired traits, such as high milk yield and disease resistance.
Many pastoralists and livestock breeders in the Kano state, like elsewhere in Nigeria, are traditionalists with little or no knowledge of the benefits of breeding through AI.
However, experts are of the opinion that extensive acceptance of AI not only in Kano but the whole of Nigeria would result in the development of a more productive cattle population. At the moment, Nigerian cows produces an average of one litre of milk a day which is a small quantity compared to cows in the UK for example, where cows yield 22 litres per day on average.
During the ceremony which was attended by high profile stakeholders in the dairy sector, including pastoralists associations, Governor Ganduje stated that “this is aimed at achieving genetic improvement of our local cattle for productivity, thereby significantly improving the income of our herdsmen and mitigating the population’s nutrition challenges”.
The governor said his administration is promoting AI as part of deliberate moves to change herdsman ship from a socio-cultural activity to a socio-economic venture, in tandem with prevailing realities across the globe.
“We are immensely grateful to the Islamic Development Bank and the Lives and Livelihood Funds, LLF, not only for this AI Center but for many other projects across the state, in which they invested resources, with the aim of addressing the challenges of poverty, food security and unemployment facing our people”, he concluded.
The Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria, Dr. Olaniyan Alabi, represented by Dr. Gana, praised the Gnaduje administration for its commitment and love for the livestock sub-sector, saying it is in line with the Federal Government’s dedication to transforming the sector for enhanced productivity and improved livelihoods of livestock value chain actors.
The State Project Coordinator, KSADP, Malam Ibrahim Garba Muhammad, said his project, which is funded by the Islamic Development Bank and the Lives and Livelihood Funds, revived the AI Center as part of wide-scale initiatives to deepen agro-pastoral productivity and production enhancement.
Such include breed improvement, livestock productivity and production enhancement, commercial fodder production, crop residue utilization from emerging sources, establishment of fodder banks, improving animal health services, upgrade of 20 slaughter houses and establishment of 200 milk collection centers.
Ameen K. Yassar :Project Communication Specialist
