From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja

Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo has flagged off Private Veterinary Practice Programme (PVP) aimed at ensuring consumption of safe and healthy livestock in the state.Ododo, who launched the programme at the Glass House, Government House, Lokoja on Thursday said livestock farming played a critical role in the strategy to ensure food security and drive industrialisation in the state.

The governor urged critical stakeholders in the Agriculture sector to work together to ensure that the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) project succeeded in Kogi. Ododo commended the World Bank team for the support especially in the establishment of Livestock Service Centre (LSC) in the state, assuring government’s commitment to taking full advantage of the project for the benefit of the people.Also speaking, the Task Team Leader of L-PRES Project, World Bank, Dr. Manievel Sene, who led a delegation on the Implementation Support Mission to Kogi, said the project implementation remained on track.Sene urged the State Implementation Committee as well as the Project leadership to work assiduously to ensure that the project greatly impacted the lives of the people.According to him, a strategic plan has been developed for the project and it counts on Veterinarians in the state to ensure the success.Earlier, Dr. Sanusi Abubakar, the National Project Coordinator of L-PRES Project, Abuja, noted that Kogi is taking the lead in the implementation of the L-PRES project in the country.While enumerating the importance of the Private Veterinary Practice (PVP) programme, Abubakar described the programme as a calculated attempt to strengthen veterinary practice in Kogi.He explained that the involvement of Private Veterinarians in the L-PRES was because out of the over 11,000 Veterinary Doctors in Nigeria only 15 percent of them work with the government.”Disease prevention, control and eradication in the country are placed in the Exclusive and Concurrent list. This implies that both State and Federal Governments have responsibilities in this regard.”Therefore services such as vaccination, disease surveillance, treatment of disease, outbreak response etc should be rendered in both Urban and rural areas,” Abubakar said.He emphasized that the Project is key to ensuring value for money, stressing the need for strict compliance with the implementation strategy, adequate documentation of all transactions, correspondence and transparency in all expenditures.He added: “if properly implemented, the project will revolutionize veterinary service delivery, value chain development and enhance food security in the State.On his part, Hon. Onoruoyiza Abdulkabir Otaru, the State Focal Person Special Adviser on Agriculture, commended the governor for his tireless efforts in the development of the agricultural sector in the state.He noted that the State Implementation Committee had procured a Hilux Vehicle, 20 Motorcycles and some medical consumables for the programme implementation, as well as training and capacity building of the private veterinarian and the livestock farmers.Otaru assured that the State Implementation Committee of the Kogi L-PRES (PVP) Programme and the entire management of the Kogi State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security would do their best to ensure the successful implementation of the programme in Kogi.Speaking on the sideline of the event, the State Project Coordinator, Dr. Olufemi Bolarin commended the Governor for prioritising livestock development in the state, and assured the public of his office’s commitment to collaborating with relevant stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of the program.Dr. Bolarin described the PVP as a model initiative that other states in the country could emulate; noting that Kogi State’s qualification to host the prestigious Livestock Service Center (LSC) underscores the state’s progress in livestock development.He added that the National Coordinating Office had approved an additional two livestock hubs for the state.The Chairman, Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), Kogi chapter, Dr. Tolu Omotugba, appreciated the governor for his contribution and support to the livestock farming in Kogi.Omotugba urged the government to domesticate the L-PRES project in Kogi with the establishment of Kogi State Ministry of Livestock Development to cater for the livestock farming.