Abuja, June 3, 2025 – NIRSAL Plc has launched a Feedlot Management Training Program to prepare Nigeria’s livestock value chain actors to tap into the $2.5 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) deal recently sealed by the federal government with global meatpacking giant, JBS.
NIRSAL said the launch of the training program was with the support from the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development.
It described the training program as a bold move to position Nigeria as a leading supplier of quality beef to domestic and global markets.
According to a statement from NIRSAL, the training program was held in Abuja recently.
“The first cohort of the training program comes at a critical moment when Nigeria is stepping into the spotlight as a global meat investment destination of choice.
“The JBS partnership will see six modern meat processing plants built across the country—with two dedicated to beef, ushering in increased demand for premium feedstock from local producers.” It said.
Speaking at the opening session, Sa’ad Hamidu, the Managing Director/CEO of NIRSAL Plc, laid out the program’s strategic intent: “This is not just another training, it is a targeted intervention aimed at creating bankable agribusinesses by improving feed formulation practices, reducing input waste, and optimizing livestock finishing cycles for increased market value.
“As it is, we are preparing Nigerian livestock producers to feed not just the nation, but the world. And this aligns directly with the Federal Government’s vision for an agriculturally empowered, export-ready nation,” he said.
The program targets the production of export-grade meat in Nigeria, while improving the productivity and profitability of the producers.
NIRSAL said although the $2.5 billion deal with JBS is the most notable in the series of investments bound for Nigeria’s livestock sub-sector, it is not the only one.
It said local companies like ABIS Group had also been making significant investments in the meat value chain, creating further demand for high-quality feedstock.
Participants in the first cohort of the training program were drawn from the Ministry of Livestock Development, the Agric Department of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), National Association of Cattle Dealers, Processors & Marketers of Nigeria (NACDPMAN), Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AUFCDN), Maidoki Farms Ltd, and others.
Shekamang Ayuba, the Director of Ranch and Pastoral Resources Development in the Ministry of Livestock Development, himself a participant, praised the training as “eye-opening and apt”, urging its expansion nationwide.
Nigeria’s livestock sector, rich in potential, but hampered by outdated practices, poor-quality feed, and limited financing, stands on the brink of genuine transformation.
NIRSAL’s intervention aims to unlock the full potential of the sub-sector by addressing structural gaps through a blend of: • Technical capacity-building • Risk-sharing incentives for lenders • End-to-end value chain support, and • Strategic public-private collaborations.
NIRSAL Plc is a dynamic non-bank financial institution wholly-owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Established in 2013, NIRSAL is tasked with transforming Nigeria’s agriculture by de-risking the sector and deploying innovations to make it more attractive to commercial finance.
To date, NIRSAL has facilitated over N250 billion into agricultural value chains, and continues to redefine agriculture related credit risk, improve credit flow, and drive agribusiness development in Nigeria.
