The Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) has announced plans to expand the country’s annual vaccine production to 850 million doses, compared to the current capacity of 120 million doses.
Sanusi Abubakar, the National Project Coordinator (NPC) of L-PRES, assured in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja that efforts are underway to achieve this goal.
He described the National Veterinary Research Institute’s (NVRI) current production capacity as grossly inadequate and emphasized the need for expansion.
Reducing vaccine import costs
Abubakar highlighted that increasing local production would significantly cut the high cost of vaccine imports.
To achieve this, L-PRES plans to upgrade the National Veterinary Research Institute’s outdated infrastructure, equipment, and storage facilities, ensuring the institute can meet the new production target.
Strengthening institutional capacity
As part of its institutional system strengthening component, L-PRES aims to modernize National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), making the country self-sufficient in livestock vaccines.
“Achieving these 850 million vaccine doses annually, we won’t need to import vaccines into Nigeria—we will be self-sufficient,” Abubakar stated.
“We will even export vaccines to other countries, reducing capital flight and easing the dollar shortage.”
To facilitate vaccine exports, the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) will be upgraded to meet Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) standards, a key quality assurance requirement for global distribution.
Expanding storage and infrastructure
L-PRES has also completed a 40-million-dose capacity strategic vaccine storage facility in Sheda, FCT, as part of its institutional strengthening efforts.
Abubakar revealed plans to construct six additional storage facilities across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones to enhance vaccine distribution to livestock farmers.
“With these facilities, we will have a place to store vaccines for onward distribution,” he said.
Advancing livestock production
Beyond vaccines, L-PRES is investing in livestock value chain enhancement, renovating livestock markets, and improving breeding technology. The project has established a pasture seed multiplication center at the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI) in Zaria.
Additionally, by 2025, L-PRES will support animal breeding through Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART), including Artificial Insemination (AI), to improve livestock quality in Nigeria.
What you should know
L-PRES is a six-year project aimed at improving livestock productivity, resilience, and commercialization within selected value chains. Additionally, it seeks to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to respond to crises or emergencies in the livestock sector.
Livestock plays a crucial role in Nigeria’s economy and poverty alleviation, employing 30% of the rural population. However, despite its importance, the sector remains underdeveloped, contributing less than 10% to the agricultural GDP and only 2–3% to the national GDP.
Beyond economic contributions, livestock provides rural households with financial stability by serving as cash buffers, capital reserves, and a hedge against inflation.
