Firm Seeks N11bn from CBN for Cattle Value Chain Project

Juliet Akoje

The Covener, Greenlands Integrated Agribusinesses Group, Ayobami Aremu has said that his firm is currently processing a financing of about N11 billion  for an alliance in the cattle value chain project in Nigeria.

He made this known in Abuja recently  at the official signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between National Association of Cattle Dealers, Processors and Marketers of Nigeria and the Comprehensive Agric Limited in a deal put together by Greenlands Agribusinesses Limited, which he said is being financed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through Sun Trust Bank Nigeria Limited. 

He stated that the feed lots and fattening houses are located and established in Kogi and Niger states currently.  

Briefing the press,  Aremu stated that Nigeria has been in a dark space when it comes to cattle, saying he founded Greenland consults as one of the Greenland groups about nine years ago afte he returned from the UK.

“What propelled my return was to ensure that what we see done over there is replicated here. It’s in the advanced state. The feedlot has been set up in Kogi and Niger; cattle rearers are already supplying cattle to
him. 

“They are going to be doing 1,000  cattle heads per week and then later move to forty thousand in the future.

“Nobody seems to understand it and it’s not rocket science. They’re just animals that need to be fed, slaughtered and sold, that’s all. We have to aggregate all the challenges, problems and look at what singular thing can bring all of this together”, he explained.

The President,  National Association of Cattle Rearers and Producers,  Mr Aliasu Bullak, said  that the association is looking at a farmer having three cows each and  looking at about 7,000 farmers. 

According to him, ‘If you calculate it, it will give you about 21, 000 cows. This will be in every three months. We’ll have the capacity to supply them with what we have said and we’ll still have more on ground.

“It will be in clusters in other states. What we have is more than what we agreed to supply them. So other areas we have our members, we’ll have our clusters where we’ll keep our cattle.”

Also at the event, the representative of Sun Trust Bank,  Dr. Detoun Abbi – Olaniyan, stated that his bank will bring in everything it takes to deliver it. 

“”The reason is not far-fetched — there is demand. There’s demand to eat healthy meat, not just meat. There’s demand for other value chain in cattle.

“We’re going back to the field to do an enumeration of each cattle reared, how many cattle they have, how many cattle we need to take off with, and then we’ll now begin to put numbers. 

“What usually happens is that you’ll put numbers, go to the field, and then find out it’s not working and the project becomes stagnant. But in this case we’re taking it one step at a time to get to that place where if we put a figure of, say, N10bn to it, it’ll be more than enough”, he added.

She is optimistic that the investment will not failed or abandoned, saying it will be  adequately funded.