By Faridat Salifu
Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) hosted a media training for journalists on Thursday, at Broadfield Hotel, Apo, Abuja, to critically examine the potential consequences of industrial animal farming in Nigeria.
The training featured presentations of case studies, documented stories from existing industrial farms, and video screenings showing the impacts of JBS’ operations in other countries.
Joyce Brown, Director of Programs at HOMEF, said the workshop was convened to engage journalists and highlight issues raised by communities, researchers, and civil society groups concerning foreign investments in Nigeria’s farming system.
She noted that one major concern is land grabs, citing Niger State’s offer of 1.2 million hectares for industrial agriculture, which could displace local farmers and reduce grazing and farmland for smallholders who currently feed the nation.
She added that most industrial meat production is export-oriented, and involves intensive chemical use, creating risks to soil, water, and public health in host communities.
She referenced a HEDA Resource Center study led by Mayowa Shobo in Nasarawa, Kaduna, and Benue states, which found that local communities often receive only menial jobs while outsiders fill technical and management positions, alongside reports of pollution and farmland degradation.
Barrister Mariann Bassey Olsson, Deputy Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action, said the training was crucial for accurate reporting explained why is important for media to distinguishes between food security and food sovereignty.
She emphasized that food security focuses on whether people have enough to eat, while food sovereignty asks who produces the food, how it is produced, and whether local people control the process.
Mariann stated that conflating the two terms allows industrial projects to be promoted as solutions to hunger, even when they strip farmers of land, dictate production methods, and push communities toward dependence on imports.
She called on regulators to scrutinize foreign companies such as JBS, pointing to documented cases of environmental violations, human rights abuses, and corporate misconduct in other countries.
Mariann underscored that Nigeria’s smallholder farmers already produce the bulk of the nation’s food and could meet domestic and regional demand if adequately supported.
Williams Tennyson, Africa Regional Director at World Animal Protection, said industrial meat companies pose a serious climate threat, noting that JBS alone emitted 421 million tons of carbon in 2021.
He added that industrial livestock production is land- and feed-intensive, inefficient, and environmentally damaging for Africa.
Tennyson further warned that importing animal feed from Brazil for proposed Nigerian operations could distort local markets, reduce opportunities for farmers, and increase consumer exposure to antibiotics and other chemicals used in factory farms.
He highlighted public health concerns arising from intensive chemical and antibiotic use in industrial meat production, urging the public to be more aware of how their food is produced.
Tennyson concluded by calling on journalists and citizens to demand transparency and accountability in the meat industry, emphasizing that protecting animals and ensuring sustainable food systems must go hand in hand.
The HOMEF training ended with a call for policies that safeguard smallholder farmers, enforce rigorous oversight of foreign agribusiness, and ensure that Nigeria’s food system remains locally controlled, environmentally sound, and aligned with the principles of food sovereignty.
