FG Targets 12 Livestock Corridors With Quarantine Network

By Hannah Yemisi

The Federal Ministry of Livestock Development has agreed to establish animal-health border posts and quarantine facilities along 12 major international livestock corridors to strengthen surveillance of transboundary and zoonotic diseases. Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, announced the plan in Abuja, saying the first facility had been inaugurated at Umfum, Etung Local Government Area, Cross River State, and handed to the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service. A second is expected in Adamawa State, with expansion planned across Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and other strategic border states.

DECISION HIGHLIGHT

The intervention shifts livestock-border management towards preventive disease control, using certification, surveillance and quarantine to manage health risks associated with large-scale cross-border animal movements.

DECISION MEMO

The policy addresses a structural weakness in Nigeria’s livestock economy: animals moving through international corridors without adequate health certification create a disease-control problem that cannot be managed effectively after livestock have entered domestic markets.

Maiha said that Nigeria receives thousands of cattle weekly from Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger and Benin Republic. The proposed quarantine network therefore creates a physical control layer at points where disease surveillance can occur before animals enter wider domestic supply chains.

The economic rationale extends beyond veterinary protection. A disease outbreak can disrupt livestock production, trade and food supply while imposing costs on farmers, processors and consumers. Stronger certification and quarantine infrastructure could therefore improve the credibility of Nigeria’s livestock trade, particularly if standards are consistently applied.

The border facilities also fit into a wider surveillance framework. The ministry is implementing nationwide disease surveillance and post-vaccination monitoring for Peste des Petits Ruminants, Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia, anthrax, Foot-and-Mouth Disease, Newcastle disease and Lumpy Skin Disease.

The intervention consequently provides an institutional foundation for the Federal Government’s ambition to develop livestock into a larger economic sector. Maiha described veterinary specialists as central to transforming Nigeria into Africa’s livestock powerhouse, linking the sector to food security, rural livelihoods, employment and economic growth.

Acting Provost of the College, Professor Joseph Akinrinmade, called for the speedy passage of the College Bill to enhance the institution’s autonomy and strengthen specialist veterinary education, while President of the Veterinary Council of Nigeria, Professor Matthew Adamu, urged the newly inducted Fellows to uphold the highest standards of professional practice.

Dr Junaid Maina, who delivered the keynote address at the 6th Convocation and 8th Investiture of Fellows of the Postgraduate College of Veterinary Surgeons of Nigeria, reinforced the broader policy argument, describing the establishment of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development as an opportunity to reposition livestock around economic diversification, exports and public health. He urged veterinary professionals to strengthen research, digital surveillance, food safety and the One Health approach.

The effectiveness of the strategy, however, will depend on whether the planned facilities operate as functioning surveillance points rather than merely physical border infrastructure. Certification, laboratory capacity, data sharing, trained personnel and enforcement will determine whether the investment materially reduces disease transmission.

DATA BOX

• Quarantine network: 12 international livestock corridors.
• First facility: Umfum, Cross River State.
• Next facility: Adamawa State.
• Planned expansion: Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina and Sokoto.
• Cross-border livestock inflow: thousands of cattle weekly.
• Priority diseases: PPR, CBPP, anthrax, Foot-and-Mouth Disease, Newcastle disease and Lumpy Skin Disease.
• Veterinary Fellows invested: 132.
• Cumulative Fellows and honorary Fellows: 930.

WHO WINS / WHO LOSES

Farmers, livestock traders, consumers and public-health systems stand to benefit from stronger disease prevention. Formal livestock traders could also gain from clearer certification and more predictable market access.

Informal operators relying on poorly documented animal movements face greater compliance pressure.

POLICY SIGNALS

The Federal Government is treating livestock health infrastructure as part of economic infrastructure. The policy also strengthens the One Health approach by connecting animal health, food safety and human public health.

INVESTOR SIGNAL

Improved animal-health controls can strengthen the investment case for livestock production, processing, logistics and exports by reducing biological and trade-related risks. The opportunity will depend on consistent enforcement across all 12 corridors.

RISK RADAR

The principal risk is implementation fragmentation. Border facilities without adequate laboratories, personnel, digital surveillance, certification systems and inter-agency coordination could become passive infrastructure. The success metric is therefore not the number of posts constructed, but measurable improvement in disease detection, containment and compliant livestock trade.