From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Federal Government has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector and strengthen its resilience to climate change, as Nigeria begins implementing its Third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0).
Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, made the pledge on Thursday at the launch of NDC 3.0 and the inauguration of the National Steering Committee for the implementation of the NDC and Net-Zero Investment Plan.
Maiha described livestock as central to food security, employment, poverty reduction and economic growth.
He warned that “rising temperatures, droughts, floods, water scarcity, pasture degradation and shifting disease patterns” threaten animal health, productivity, pastoral livelihoods and the stability of livestock value chains.
He said the ministry is pursuing low-emission production through a Climate-Smart Implementation Plan under the National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy.
The plan covers animal nutrition, feed conversion efficiency, genetics, animal health services, herd management and manure management, aimed at cutting emissions while raising productivity and profitability.
On adaptation, the minister said the ministry is working on sustainable water supply, fodder development and climate-resilient feed systems in selected grazing reserves and Livestock Development Centres.
It is also working on disease surveillance, health infrastructure and early-warning systems.
To improve climate data, Maiha said the ministry is developing a livestock measurement, reporting, verification and certification system and carrying out a methane baseline survey.
Five digital weather stations have been installed to track atmospheric pressure, wind speed, humidity and soil conditions.
He cautioned that government funds alone cannot deliver the transformation.
“The success of the implementation of NDC 3.0 depends on effective mobilisation of investment, technology and partnerships,” he said.
The Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change, Mrs Omotenioye Majekodunmi, said the focus must shift from announcing commitments to implementation and measurable results. “Our task today is not simply to launch another document. It is to move from ambition to delivery, from pledges to governance,” she said.
She said NDC 3.0 sets an economy-wide target of cutting emissions by 32 per cent by 2035, relative to a 2018 base year, on the path to net zero by 2060.
She called for credible project pipelines, transparent programmes and policy certainty to attract public and private investment.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, represented by Professor Babatunde Bolaji Bernard, said the NDC should be treated as a national development instrument, with climate priorities built into policies, budgets, infrastructure and investment decisions.
The UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Ms Elsie Gyekyewaa Attafuah, said climate policy must produce tangible improvements in people’s lives.
She noted that many Nigerians experience climate change through worries over whether rains will sustain the harvest, whether floods will keep children from school, or whether extreme heat will affect their health and work.
She cited climate-resilient agriculture, reliable clean energy and cleaner cooking as interventions with direct benefits.
Other development partners at the event stressed international cooperation, technical assistance, climate finance and institutional capacity-building.
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