President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on JBS S.A, one of the top three largest meat processing companies globally, to consider investment in Nigeria’s livestock sector, saying there’s hunger in Nigeria at the moment.
Tinubu said this on Thursday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the signing of a Letter of Intent between the Nigerian Government and the JBS S.A.
According to the President, his administration’s renewed focus in driving international and local investments into the livestock sector of the agricultural value chain will end the crisis of farmer-herder clashes, eradicate hunger and poverty in Nigeria as well as promote economic prosperity.
Speaking on the need for investments in the sector, the President recognised JBS S.A as having global expertise in the area of guaranteeing food security, calling on the company to see the considerable potential in what he called the $2.5billion livestock investment opportunities in Nigeria, especially with its huge population and tap into it.
“We’ve heard so much about you in terms of the reputation, and we believe in the partnership we are forging today.
“Food security is extremely important. As we talk right now, there is hunger. However, there is huge hope. And you are one of those hopes that we are looking at.”
President Tinubu told the JBS top executives that Nigeria is ready to do business with them, assuring them of a good return on their investment.
According to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the President on information and strategy, the President had, prior to his visit to Brazil, commissioned a team of Nigerian officials and private sector players to take advantage of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Rio to conduct a study tour of Sao Paulo, Brazil and explore the opportunities in livestock development, meat processing, seed development and multiplication for key grains.
The statement noted that the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Muhktar Mahia, who led the delegation, in his remarks, reported to the President that the team embarked on guided, extended and intensive tours of companies on the scale of their global reach, the integrated nature of their operations as well as the deployment of advanced technology. He added that from their interactions with various companies, JBS S.A. was chosen being the second largest meat processing company in the world with the capacity to process 33,000 cattle daily and over eight million birds daily, using advanced zero-waste practices. The company employs over 200,000 people across its subsidiaries in more than 50 countries in the world including the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia among others.
Wesley Batista, founder and President of the JBS group, said the company is the largest employer of labour in Brazil with over $79 billion dollars revenue already in the year 2024.
“We are glad to work with Nigeria to work together to develop the livestock industry there. We think it’s a good opportunity for our business in Nigeria and Africa as we believe Nigeria can be the centre of supply of protein to many countries in Africa. We look forward to working with you. We are almost in December and this year is almost gone. We hope to be in Nigeria as soon as possible,” the founder and Chief Executive said.
Other members of the delegation included the Minister of State Agriculture and Food Security Hon. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, Co-chairman Presidential Livestock Reform Committee, Professor Attahiru Jega, the Secretary of the Committee, Professor Mohammed Kuta Yahya, and the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Investment Promotion Council, Aisha Rimi.
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