Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has transformed meat preservation and marketing, by installing modern equipment such as cold-chain facilities in abattoirs in the three senatorial districts.

The Sabon Gari Branch of Butchers Association of Nigeria which commended the governor on Monday, also noted that his intervention enhanced food safety and hygiene, reduced post-slaughter losses and significantly increased butchers’ earnings.

The butchers also commended Mr Sani for upgrading the Zango Shanu Modern Abattoir in the Sabon Gari Local Government Area, during a media tour, facilitated by the state Commissioner of Information and Culture, Ahmed Maiyaki, where journalists inspected some projects in zone one.

Speaking on behalf of the association, Alkasim Mai-Nama, recalled that lack of storage facilities in the past meant butchers were often forced to dispose of unsold meat, resulting in heavy financial losses.

“Before now, if meat remained unsold, we had no option but to throw it away because there was nowhere to preserve it. Today, with the cold rooms provided by Governor Uba Sani’s administration, we can safely store meat for later sale. This has drastically reduced wastage, improved hygiene and increased our daily income,” Mr Mai-Nama said.

He added that the improved sanitary conditions at the abattoir strengthened public confidence in the safety and quality of meat processed at the facility.

Also speaking, the Vice Chairman of the Butchers Association of Nigeria, Sabon Gari Branch, Jamilu Umar, described the intervention as the most comprehensive rehabilitation of the abattoir since it was established in the early 1980s.

“For more than three decades, we operated under very difficult conditions. There were no functional drainage systems to evacuate blood, water supply was poor, and there were no cold rooms for preservation.

‘’What we have today is a complete transformation that has restored dignity to our work and improved public health standards,” he added.

The Sarkin Fawan Badawa, Musa Dalhat Abubakar, said the construction of a perimeter fence strengthened security and safeguarded the investments of butchers and livestock traders.

“For over 30 years, the abattoir remained exposed to encroachment and theft because there was no fence. Today, our businesses are more secure, and the improved infrastructure has attracted butchers and livestock traders from neighbouring Katsina and Zamfara states, expanding commercial activities and boosting the local economy,” he stated.

Earlier, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Murtala Dabo, said the Sani administration prioritised investments across the livestock value chain to improve productivity, strengthen food security and enhance livelihoods.

He noted that 19 pastoralist communities had been provided with pasture fields and solar-powered boreholes to reduce seasonal migration and minimise farmer-herder conflicts.

“By providing grazing support and water infrastructure, we are enabling pastoralists to remain in designated settlements, boosting meat and dairy production while promoting peaceful coexistence,” Mr Dabo said.

The commissioner added that the state government constructed three modern abattoirs across the state’s three senatorial zones—in Kawo (Kaduna North), Kafanchan (Jema’a) and Zango Shanu (Sabon Gari)—in addition to 21 slaughterhouses across the state to strengthen the livestock value chain.

According to him, the facilities are equipped with modern cold-chain infrastructure, including cold rooms, deep freezers, display refrigerators, hygienic meat shops, solar-powered boreholes and water-heating systems to ensure safe meat processing, storage and distribution.

He said the upgraded Zango Shanu Modern Abattoir reflects the Mr Sani administration’s commitment to improving public health, strengthening food safety, reducing waste, increasing incomes for livestock value chain actors and positioning Kaduna State as a leading hub for livestock production and meat processing in Nigeria.