FG starts work on tracking animals to improve exports

The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, has said that the ministry is now working on a system to identify and trace animals. This system will help Nigeria's red meat industry reach international markets.

The minister gave praise to ABIS Group for creating a digital marketplace for livestock products. He noted that this effort is not only creating more jobs but also making protein easier for people to access through technology.

Maiha, who was represented by Abdulkareem Durosinlorun, mentioned that once the identification and traceability system is fully operational, it will help Nigerian red meat and other animal protein products to be exported more easily.

He also shared that the federal government is working on policies to make breeding stock and animal feed more available for livestock producers.

Innovations in the Marketplace

The minister spoke during the launch of the ABIS Digital Market Place in Abuja. He explained that with the new platform, people do not need to go to the market anymore. They can buy protein online.

Maiha said this innovation brings major progress to the livestock sector. It creates jobs, encourages transparency, and allows buyers to see exactly what they are buying.

Earlier, Iliyasu Gashinbaki, the Co-founder of ABIS Group, said that over the years, the group has built a system that combines agribusiness and livestock. This system is based on quality, innovation, and long-term investment.

He noted that the company’s processing hub in Lagos currently handles 220 cattle and 3,000 poultry birds every day. The Abuja Mega Livestock Processing Facility, which will open soon, is designed to handle 1,000 cattle, 3,000 small ruminants, and 600 tonnes of poultry daily.

Future Plans for Expansion

“Beyond Abuja, we are building modern processing hubs in Plateau, Sokoto, and Edo states. These will process between 200 and 500 cattle, 500 to 1,000 small ruminants, and 400 tonnes of poultry daily. This makes us the largest integrated livestock processing company in Africa,” he stated.

Gashinbaki explained that the newly launched ABIS Digital Marketplace is meant to improve Nigeria’s protein supply chain. It uses technology to fix the problems in livestock, meat, seafood, and poultry markets in Nigeria.

Emmanuel Nelson Usman, the Founder and Chairman of ABIS, told participants that the Digital Marketplace is a new system for trust, traceability, efficiency, and inclusion. It connects producers, processors, distributors, retailers, and consumers in one technology-driven network that is changing how Nigeria produces, trades, and consumes animal protein.

“This is more than just a tech application. It is the base for a safer, smarter, and clearer protein system. It promotes full digitisation across the livestock value chain to provide safe, ethically sourced, hygienically processed, and fully traceable animal protein to consumers while improving public health, food safety, market access, and producer prosperity,” he said.