The Federal Ministry of Livestock Development has inaugurated a 40 million dose capacity animal vaccine storage facility in Jimeta, Yola North Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, commissioned the facility on Thursday in Yola.

He described the facility as a strategic investment to strengthen animal health and livestock development in the North-East.

Mr Maiha said the state-of-the-art, solar-powered facility was designed to serve as a strategic national and regional hub for the storage and distribution of veterinary vaccines in the region.

He said the facility had the capacity to store approximately 40 million doses of veterinary vaccines under a reliable cold-chain system.

According to him, the investment is part of the federal government’s broader livestock transformation agenda being implemented by the Ministry through the Livestock Productivity, Resilience and Support Project (L-PRES), with support from the World Bank.

“Similar strategic facilities have been established in Abuja, Sokoto, Edo, Lagos and Anambra states, creating a growing national network for efficient vaccine storage and distribution,” the minister said.

On the federal government’s pilot ranching project being implemented in five selected states and the Federal Capital Territory, Mr Maiha said the initiative was not intended to take land from individuals or communities.

“The ministry, under President Bola Tinubu, is not going to grab land from anybody. We don’t want land. What we want is cooperation.

“The state government will show us what they want to do. They will show us the land after having a stakeholder engagement,” he said.

Earlier, Sanusi Abubakar, national project coordinator, L-PRES, described the commissioning of the facility as a key deliverable in efforts to safeguard and sustain the livestock vaccine ecosystem in Nigeria.

Mr Abubakar said the solar-powered cold room would provide uninterrupted cold-chain storage for veterinary vaccines and eliminate concerns over power outages affecting vaccine potency.

“The commissioning of this strategic solar cold room is a key deliverable in L-PRES’s efforts in safeguarding and sustaining the nationwide livestock vaccine ecosystem in the country.

“This structure is designed to hold conservatively 40 million doses of animal vaccines, stored under a cold-chain system that is completely off-grid.

“The concern about having interruptions in the storage conditions due to power outages is a thing of the past,” he said.

He said the facility would be operated through a public-private partnership, with the federal and state governments responsible for 50 per cent, while the private sector would handle the remaining 50 per cent.

Representing Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, Usman Lamurde, Commissioner for Livestock and Aquaculture Development, commended the federal government for its investments in livestock development in the state.

Mr Lamurde said livestock production remained a major pillar of Adamawa’s economy, adding that it contributed significantly to the state’s internally generated revenue.

“Livestock production is contributing almost 40 per cent of the state’s annual total internally generated revenue,” he said.

The minister was in the state for a Three-Day visit to commission six major livestock development projects across the state.

The projects include the animal vaccine storage facility integrated waste management plant, and a cattle resting point.

Others are rehabilitation of Gongoshi grazing reserve with boreholes, and a state-of-the-art strategic artificial insemination excellent centre at Adamawa State University, Mubi.

He will also inaugurate the water-harvesting structure and weather station.

(NAN)