Nigeria can generate $2 billion annually from donkey value chain –DSPMEAN

Donkey Skin Processors, Marketers and Exporters Association of Nigeria (DSPMEAN), has said Nigeria can generate over $2 billion annually from donkey value chain.
The National Vice Chairman,  DSPMEAN, Ifeanyi Dike, stated this in Abuja when the National Animal Production and Research Institute (NAPRI) and Earthwheel Logistics Limited, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to produce 2 million donkeys in 5 years.
He said: “The donkey value chain can generate about $2 billion annually for Nigeria. The MoU also involves training and creating employment opportunities for the teaming population of Nigerians.”
Chairman, Earthwheel Logistics, Destiny Izuchukwu Osili lauded NAPRI for the collaboration, which, he said, was the first of its kind in Nigeria’s livestock farming, pleading with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to encourage the project.

Osili explained that the firm had established donkey ranches in Bauchi and Jigawa states since 2012, including the mini ranch in Ufuma and the MoU will bring about structured framework to breed donkeys to preserve local stock and to tackle the menace of smuggling.
He said the target was to make donkeys more available to the Nigerian local demands. “This initiative is to produce more donkeys and use their derivatives for export in order to earn foreign exchange for Nigeria in line with the diversification agenda of the Federal Government in the agriculture sector.”