By Faridat Salifu
Enugu State is moving to strengthen livestock production by expanding veterinary and technical services available to farmers across its 17 local government areas.
The move follows the recruitment of more than 160 veterinary and para-veterinary doctors, laboratory scientists and other professionals, who are expected to help address long-standing gaps in animal health services.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-industrialisation, Patrick Ubru, disclosed this on Monday, September 21, 2026, while addressing the newly recruited workers in Enugu.
Ubru said the shortage of professionals had affected the state’s ability to provide adequate veterinary and technical support to livestock farmers, adding that the new workforce would help revive the state’s 17 veterinary clinics.
“We have 17 veterinary clinics across the local governments in the state, and we want to revive all of them,” he said.
He added that technology and innovation would also be introduced to improve productivity and make livestock production more competitive.
Ifeyinwa Nnajieze, State Project Coordinator of the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES), said three of the newly recruited professionals would be posted to each local government area to provide livestock-related services.
She said the deployment would support the transition of livestock farming from subsistence production to a commercially viable sector.
“With what we have seen, our governor is being intentional about reviving the state’s livestock sector, moving it from just mere subsistence to a commercialised sector,” she said.
The Commissioner said the recruits were carefully screened to ensure that qualified professionals were available to support the sector.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture, Williams Nnamdi, urged the workers to take their responsibilities seriously, while newly recruited veterinary doctor Chidiebere Joseph pledged professional service in supporting the state’s livestock transformation.
Source:NAN
