By Faridat Salifu
The potential entry of JBS, the world’s largest meat corporation, into Nigeria’s industrial farming sector with a $2.5 billion investment in six large-scale poultry, beef, and pork farms has raised alarm among experts and civil society groups.
The concerns were presented during a media workshop hosted by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) on Thursday, 21 August 2025, at Broadfield Hotel, Apo, Abuja, aimed at equipping journalists to critically examine the impacts of industrial animal farming in Nigeria.
Mayowa Shobo, Program Manager at HEDA Resource Centre, presented survey findings and community case studies documenting the socio-economic and environmental consequences of large-scale commercial farming across 13 agrarian communities in northern and southern Nigeria.
Shobo explained that nearly all respondents (96.7 percent) confirmed the presence of industrial farms in their vicinity, with poultry operations accounting for 38.3 percent of activities, and noted that local employment opportunities often failed to meet community needs despite 61.7 percent acknowledging some jobs created.
He highlighted that 60 percent of respondents reported loss of farmland or grazing space, while environmental impacts included air pollution (76.7 percent), water contamination (63.3 percent), and increased flooding (68.3 percent), coinciding with worsening community health in 71.7 percent of cases.
Shobo also noted that irregular rainfall (76.7 percent) and flooding (71.7 percent) disrupted traditional farming calendars, prompting communities to adopt modified planting schedules (55 percent) and crop diversification (53.3 percent) to cope with climate stressors.
Barrister Mariann Bassey, of Environmental Rights Action, spoke on the broader risks of industrial animal farming in Nigeria, explaining that factory farms confine animals, heavily rely on antibiotics, and demand large amounts of land, feed, and water.
Mariann cautioned that JBS’s expansion strategy, framed as “job creation and modernization,” threatens to consolidate corporate control over Nigeria’s food systems, displace smallholder farmers, and undermine food sovereignty while contributing to deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and biodiversity loss.
She emphasized that concentrated animal production can drive zoonotic disease outbreaks, promote antibiotic resistance, and compromise food safety, while the real benefits for local communities remain minimal.
Patrick Muinde, Africa Regional Director at World Animal Protection, presented the animal welfare and climate dimension of industrial livestock production, stressing that billions of animals are raised in stressful, overcrowded conditions under factory farming systems.
Patrick added that industrial meat production is highly inefficient, with animals converting only a fraction of feed into consumable meat, and that feed production and processing contribute 45 percent of total agricultural greenhouse gas emissions globally.
He further highlighted that factory farming drives biodiversity loss, pollutes land and water, misuses planetary resources, and exacerbates climate change, calling for urgent transparency, informed policymaking, and public awareness.
The workshop emphasized that Nigeria’s smallholder farmers, who currently produce over 70 percent of the country’s food, are capable of meeting domestic and regional needs if adequately supported, and that foreign industrial systems such as JBS could undermine livelihoods, local control of food, and environmental sustainability.
HOMEF and HEDA urged policymakers, journalists, and citizens to demand careful scrutiny of foreign investments, rigorous environmental and social assessments, community consultations, and policies that prioritize food sovereignty and sustainable development.
The event combined research evidence, community testimonies, and case studies to provide a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted risks of industrial animal farming, highlighting the need for Nigeria to balance investment with environmental protection, public health, and local empowerment.
