When Idi Mukhtar Maiha was announced as the nominated minister of the newly created Ministry of Livestock Development, my mind immediately went back to some encounters with him in 2019 which were recorded on this page. He is one of the biggest ranchers in the North, managing the Zaidi Farms in Kaduna. Along with Muhammadu Abubakar of L&Z Integrated Farms in Kano and Aminu Nyako of Sebore Farms, Mayo-Belwa, Adamawa State, the ministerial nominee had been a strong advocate of carving out the Department of Livestock to stand alone from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
I would have applauded if any of them had been named to lead the ministry. They all have the passion, know-how and extensive network to make a success of the intended assignment. Their ranches have been at the forefront of defining the new-age integrated agricultural practices.
I have visited both L&Z and Zaidi Farms and have observed the novelties in their farms but more importantly how they were able to incorporate the different ruga around them with milk collection centres, schools, etc. They are a showcase of the best example of how our itinerant herders can be permanently resettled.
Following are the two excerpts from the two pieces. The first one was a result of a visit to Zaidi Farm and the second one was an account of a paper Idi Mukhtar gave at a forum of the Milky Way Partnership in Kaduna.
Daily Trust 16th July 2019: “We drove towards the Millennium City to visit the Zaidi Farms – a large ranch some few kilometres away from Kurmin-Mashi village. The ranch is run by Idi Mukhtar Maiha, a former Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KPRC), who surprised many by opting to head to the farm after retirement.
The Zaidi farm is a well-integrated enterprise that applies the best animal husbandry practices. It is in close arrangement with the Kaduna State Government, Milcopal and Arla. When the ranch was officially launched by the Deputy Governor in April, the Danish Ambassador was there in person to underscore the close relationship. There is a milking point for the livestock around which the ranch management has organised many herding families in the vicinity to participate. The ranch enables them to get access to the kind of services given at the Amana Cooperatives. The leaders of the ruga, including their ladies were at hand to receive and chat with us.”
Daily Trust 3rd July 2019: “It was time for two of the main papers of the day. The first presenter was Idi Muktar Maiha whom I had introduced in these pages some months ago as a former Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company who after retirement surprised many by heading to the farm.
The Zaidi farm he established is a well-integrated enterprise and applies world-class best practices in animal husbandry. There is a milking point for the livestock in which the management of the ranch has organised a large number of herding families living in villages contiguous to the farm to participate.
“The ranch enables the herders access to modern services that add plenty of value such as a milking parlour, milking machines, cooling tanks, milk utensils and several other services. When we visited the farm last time, we noted that there was a need for an all-season road leading to the farm from the main highway. It was quite a distance and with the rains already starting the transportation of milk and eggs produced in the farm in large quantities would face lots of challenges.
“Idi Muktar’s paper spoke eloquently for the overall dairy value chain involving both the small and the big herder. He gave an overview of the value chain itself showing a graphic example of a broken chain, a metaphor indicating that the challenges are still overwhelming. He dwelled on the challenges facing the dairy industry.
“Nigeria is home to one of the largest herds in Africa, with 22 million cattle at the last count, compared to South Africa’s 14 million and 18 million in Kenya. However, the milk yield per annum of our large herds is only 560 million litres while South Africa yields 3.2 billion and Kenya yields 3.4 billion. This translates into over $1.5b of our scarce foreign exchange to import the milk needs of our burgeoning population.
“Our indigenous herds are rated very low mainly because they are not sedentary. It is a major challenge for cattle to move about in search of sparse pasture and water. Government pronouncements in addressing this matter are still incoherent. The herds are further beset with poor extension service by government MDAs and insecurity particularly cattle rustling.
“Idi’s take is that we should quickly settle our herders, upgrade the cattle and ensure improvement in logistics and rural infrastructure. As a final take, he suggested the excising of the Livestock Division from the FMARD to enable it some independence to face the challenges of the lucrative but largely untapped Nigeria’s dairy industry.”
A round peg for a round hole, nonetheless, with a lot of baggage. There are lots of expectations from the new Ministry of Livestock Development. Stakeholders would expect him to lay the foundation of a modern dairy industry. To do that he must bring to bear his passion, expertise and management skills to make a success of this assignment.
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