The Nigerian Government, through the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES), has commissioned a Strategic Animal Resting Facility at Jaba-Jaba in Maiha Local Government Area of Adamawa State to enhance quarantine services, animal health surveillance and safe movement of livestock along Nigeria’s border with Cameroon.
The facility was commissioned by the Minister for Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha and the Deputy Governor of Adamawa State, Kaletapwa Farauta, during the Minister’s working visit to L-PRES intervention sites in the state.
The facility is strategically located along the Nigeria-Cameroon border corridor and serves as an organized point for the temporary holding, inspection and submission of livestock in transit to appropriate animal health and quarantine procedures before onward movement.
The intervention is particularly important in improving Nigeria’s capacity to prevent and control transboundary animal diseases, and improve disease surveillance, biosecurity and monitoring of livestock movement across the international border.
Speaking at the commissioning, the Minister said, “the facility is another key investment by the Federal Government in building a modern and resilient livestock sector, particularly through stronger animal health and quarantine systems.
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“Effective surveillance along border livestock corridors is critical to protect Nigeria’s livestock population, safeguarding public health and facilitating safer livestock trade between Nigeria and neighboring countries,” said Maiha.
The Deputy Governor of Adamawa State, Kaletapwa Farauta, praised the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, the World Bank and L-PRES for the investment, saying it was “an important contribution to the development of the livestock sector in Adamawa State.”
The government remains committed to interventions in productivity, animal health, food security and the livelihoods of livestock producers throughout the state.
“The Jaba-Jaba facility is part of the strategic investments of the Project in strengthening the livestock health infrastructure and improving the management of animal movement along the major border corridors,” he said. Sanusi Abubakar, National Project Coordinator of L-PRES.
He said the facility should be effectively utilized and managed in a sustainable manner to ensure that livestock producers, traders, veterinary authorities and border communities derive maximum benefits from the investment.
The Jaba-Jaba Strategic Animal Resting Facility is one of the wider L-PRES interventions to modernize Nigeria’s livestock sector through improved animal health services, improved disease surveillance, improved biosecurity and investments that support safer and more productive livestock value chains.
This is the latest in a series of recent commissioning of new facilities, following the inauguration of a similar L-PRES Strategic Animal Holding Facility at the Etung-Ikom border corridor in Cross River State, another key international livestock corridor between Nigeria and Cameroon.
The two facilities are part of L-PRES investments to better quarantine operations, disease surveillance, biosecurity and safer cross-border livestock movement at strategic entry points across the country.