Abuja: Mrs Khuraira Musa, the President of the Livestock Value Chain for Youth and Women Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited, has pledged that the group would be a model for participatory rural development and wealth creation. She said that to achieve this, the society aimed to record over ?4 billion in livestock export within the next 36 months.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Musa made these remarks during the virtual inauguration of the cooperative society. She emphasized that the cooperative was established out of necessity, as many communities and rural farmers face challenges in silence. Youths eager to farm lack support, while women struggle to hold families together with minimal resources. The cooperative is intended to serve as a platform for economic empowerment, food security, and dignified livelihoods. Musa also pledged a commitment to uphold transparency, accountability, and community ownership.
Mr Mohammed Sodangi, Director of Membership and Community Mobilisation, elaborated that membership in the society would be granted exclusively through referrals from existing members, which would be vetted by its Membership Committee and approved by the General Assembly. He stated that the cooperative aims to reshape the future of rural Nigeria by using livestock as a means to achieve peace, prosperity, and progress. He expressed confidence that with visionary leadership and a commitment to sustainable development, the society could serve as a blueprint for inclusive national growth.
Dr Dasuki Kabir, Head of the Directorate of Marketing and Export, revealed that the group has developed a 12-month roadmap to enhance the global competitiveness of Nigeria’s livestock products. The strategy targets key markets, including Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and Egypt. He noted that the society would focus on ethics, corporate social responsibility, market research, product certification, logistics infrastructure, and branding.
Kabir also emphasized that social responsibility would remain central to the cooperative’s mission, with initiatives such as interest-free loans, guaranteed off-take agreements, and revolving funds designed to support smallholder livestock producers. Additionally, the group plans to focus on capacity building and ethical governance, offering training in livestock handling, animal welfare, feed formulation, sustainable practices, bookkeeping, cooperative governance, and agri-tech and digital literacy.
