{"id":122291,"date":"2025-09-16T08:03:45","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T07:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=122291"},"modified":"2025-09-16T08:03:45","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T07:03:45","slug":"food-safety-fg-pilots-abattoir-certification-programme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/food-safety-fg-pilots-abattoir-certification-programme\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Safety: \u200eFG Pilots Abattoir Certification Programme"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Daniel Adaji<\/div>\n
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\u200eThe Federal Government has launched a pilot abattoir certification programme to create disease-free zones and improve livestock handling across Nigeria.<\/div>\n
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\u200eMinister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, announced the initiative on Monday while addressing journalists at the maiden edition of the ministry\u2019s media retreat in Kaduna State.<\/div>\n
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\u200eMaiha explained that most abattoirs in the country are privately owned, with only a few under government control. Out of these, just three have so far met the ministry\u2019s certification standards\u2014one in Kano State and two in Abuja. \u201cSo today we have identified three abattoirs. One in Kano, two in Abuja. To start as a pilot for certification,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n
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\u200eHe noted that the certification process would be anchored on internationally recognised standards\u2014the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and ISO 22000.<\/div>\n
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\u200eAccording to the United States Federal Department of Agriculture, \u201cISO 22000 integrates the principles of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system and application steps developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission to identify, prevent and control food safety hazards.<\/div>\n
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\u200e\u201cHACCP is a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product,\u201d it added.<\/div>\n
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\u200eMaiha said the goal was to establish disease-free zones through strict internal assessments and compliance with international benchmarks. \u201cWe make an internal assessment and then we make it to build up what we call disease-free zones. We have to make them a disease-free zone,\u201d he stated.<\/div>\n
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\u200eBeyond abattoir certification, the minister highlighted broader reforms in livestock management, such as pasture expansion, feed distribution, and improved animal welfare. He argued that transporting fodder instead of animals across regions would help reduce conflicts and improve productivity.<\/div>\n
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\u200e\u201cWhy can\u2019t you move over the grasses from the southern part of the country to the northern part of the country rather than moving animals? So that\u2019s the business model we are presenting,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n
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\u200eOn livestock transportation, Maiha disclosed ongoing talks with manufacturers to produce customised vehicles designed to reduce stress on animals.<\/div>\n
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\u200e\u201cWe are talking with manufacturers of these vehicles to give us specific customized vehicles, trucks, for animal transportation,\u201d he explained, stressing that inhumane practices like transporting goats on bus rooftops must end.<\/div>\n
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\u200eThe minister also pledged a nationwide campaign on animal handling and welfare. \u201cWe are coming up with a massive campaign on animal handling, animal welfare, and those issues about animal transportation,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n
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\u200eReacting to the initiative, Peter Dama, a retired Federal Director of Information and livestock stakeholder, commended the ministry\u2019s approach, particularly its potential to reduce farmer-herder conflicts. He recalled how local negotiations in farming communities had helped ease tensions over access routes and water.<\/div>\n
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\u200e\u201cWe came, we agreed, the local leader, our chief negotiated, and we accepted that any herder that destroys crops, would have to pay. That must be a good decision. So you see we live together, we work together and help one another,\u201d Dama said.<\/div>\n
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\u200eHe suggested that government could scale up such locally tested peace-building strategies to the national level.<\/div>\n
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\u200eThe abattoir certification programme marks a major step in the Federal Government\u2019s plan to modernise the livestock sector, improve food safety, and reduce farmer-herder conflicts through structured regulation.<\/div>\n
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