FMLD, Christian Aid Partner on Youth, Women Poultry Initiative

The Federal Ministry of Livestock Development has reaffirmed its commitment to youth and women empowerment in the livestock sector under the National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy (NL-GAS), as it strengthens collaboration with Christian Aid on a large-scale poultry transformation initiative.

Speaking while receiving a delegation from Christian Aid on Tuesday, 16th December 2025, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, Dr. Chinyere Ijeoma Akujobi, noted that the partnership aligns squarely with the Ministry’s mandate to drive food security, job creation, climate-smart agriculture, and inclusive economic growth.

Dr. Akujobi emphasised that the Ministry is keen on fostering an enabling environment for programmes that deliver measurable outcomes, particularly for women and young people. She encouraged stakeholders to move beyond theory to practical, evidence-based implementation that supports productivity, climate resilience, innovation, and inclusivity in the livestock sector.

“Together, we can build a livestock sector that is productive, climate-smart, youth-driven, women-inclusive, and capable of contributing meaningfully to national food security, employment creation, and economic diversification,” the Permanent Secretary said.

She also stressed the importance of learning from past interventions, urging the programme designers to incorporate clear risk-mitigation measures, strong monitoring and evaluation frameworks, and transparent governance structures to avoid repeating previous shortcomings. 

Speaking on the need for deliberate farmer profiling, credible data systems, and intentional targeting of genuine livestock producers, Dr. Akujobi further highlighted critical success factors for sustainability, including access to affordable feed, veterinary and extension services, disease management, waste management, and backward integration strategies to reduce production costs. 

Presenting the proposed initiative, the Economic and Gender Justice Lead at Christian Aid, Munachi Ugochukwu, explained that the programme, known as the Sustainable Entrepreneurship-Led Poultry Transformation (SEPT) initiative, is a five-year intervention supported by the Mastercard Foundation. 

The programme is designed to address youth unemployment and gender inequality by unlocking opportunities across the poultry value chain. According to Ugochukwu, the initiative targets over 220,000 youth and women participants across seven states, with a strong focus on underserved and marginalised communities. 

At least 80 per cent of beneficiaries will be women, while persons with disabilities and internally displaced persons are also deliberately included. He further outlined key programme components, including access to scalable markets, skills development, entrepreneurship training, affordable finance at single-digit interest rates, climate-smart production practices, gender and social inclusion, and ecosystem-level policy engagement. 

The initiative is being implemented through a consortium of partners, including Sahel Consulting, Animal Care, Produce Africa, and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), in collaboration with financial institutions such as FCMB and the Bank of Agriculture.

Members of the Ministry’s management team welcomed the initiative and offered technical guidance, raising questions around beneficiary selection, geographic focus, training partnerships, veterinary and animal health services, biosecurity, waste management, insurance coverage and risk mitigation. 

Further discussions highlighted the importance of financial literacy, the graduation trajectory from small-scale to medium-scale enterprises, and the metrics that will be used to measure job creation, productivity gains and income growth for women and young people.

Oghenekevwe Uchechukwu
Head, Press and Public Relations 
16th December, 2025