The World Bank has pledged to support livestock farmers in Enugu to improve and boost livestock production in the state.

National Coordinator of Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES), a World Bank-assisted project, Sanusi Abubakar, made the pledge during the Project Implementation Support Mission at the Government House, Enugu, on Wednesday.

In his address, Mr Abubakar explained that the L-PRES was a six-year World Bank-assisted project under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

The coordinator said the project sought to improve productivity and commercialisation of livestock value chains.

He said they were in Enugu to lend support and complement the state government’s efforts around commercial livestock farming and value chain development.

According to him, the project would address systemic weaknesses and challenges stifling the needed growth and full emancipation of the livestock sector in the state.

Mr Abubakar lauded Governor Peter Mbah for showing significant commitment in meeting the project onboarding criteria.

He maintained that his administration’s giant strides in agriculture, provision of water and development projects would no doubt assist the L-PRES mission in the state.

“Your administration’s giant strides in agriculture and developmental projects cannot go unnoticed within the ecosystem of livestock stakeholders in Nigeria and beyond.

“We are fully aware of your strides in the provision of potable water through your administration’s water project which is a critical factor for sustainable livelihood and livestock production. The construction of rural road networks is a critical success factor in value chain development and market linkage and investment commitment in agriculture,” he said.

In his remarks, Mr Mbah, represented by his Deputy, Ifeanyi Ossai, extolled the team for the good work it was doing.

The governor maintained that the state government was mindful of playing its part in every partnership that would create value for the state and bring progress for the people of the State.

He charged the team to assist the livestock farmers in the state to design their farms, prepare all bankable documents that would enable them access to finance.

Mr Mbah assured that Enugu farmers were committed, strong, willing and genuine farmers who had the capacity to supply protein to other parts of the world.

He said, “We want to work with you closely to ensure that whatever investment you make will be supported by the contribution we make in counterpart funding which will have a trackable value to our people.

“Enugu has moved agriculture from a subsistence activity to business, and we are looking at it as a business. We are disposed and ready more than most of the states to sustain that. We have an international airport, we can supply protein to other countries. I want us to work together to give value to this programme so that at the end of the day, we can look back and say we indeed made an impact on the people.’’

(NAN)