45. What lessons can be drawn from the foregoing review and analysis of livestock development objectives and policies in Nigeria? First, direct production programmes by the government have been largely ineffective in expanding livestock output in Nigeria. The production increases generated by such programmes have been minimal. What is worse, by diverting resources away from the pastoralists and agropastoralists, such programmes have tended to hinder the development of the traditional sector.
46. Second, for most of the period under review trade policy more or less substituted for an explicit price policy for the LSS. Trade policy, however, failed to provide appropriate incentives for domestic livestock production. Trade restrictions resulting from policy changes in response to macro-economic concerns provided protection for most livestock products. Because it ensued as a by-product of other concerns, the resulting protection lacked important features of an appropriate production incentive system, such as stability and consistency.
47. Given these lessons, what should be the direction of government policy in the future? Since the inception of the SAP, a number of changes have taken place to redress some of the past mistakes. Two specific issues in addition to the changes already implemented deserve mention and should help to facilitate the growth of livestock output.
48. First, government investment policy within the LSS needs to be reviewed. All too often in the past, government provided funds for production programmes with little or no consideration being given to the past performance record of such programmes. A shift from this approach to a strategy that promotes research on new technologies and strengthens the extension services to disseminate the results of this research is needed. At the same time, complementary incentive policies that will facilitate the uptake of new innovations and induce private capital investment in the LSS should be instituted.
49. Second, in designing government policies, the full implications of these policies for the different sectors of the economy need to be explicitly recognized and taken into consideration. The fact that most livestock products are tradeable means that livestock, trade and exchange rate policies are inevitably interlinked. The upshot is that better coordination of policy decisions is necessary. However, proper coordination and informed policy-making call for a good data base. A significant feature of policy-making in the past has been that crucial decisions were made on the establishment of new projects, support to different livestock species, level of imports and so forth with little or no empirical information. Not surprisingly, such policy-making has often led to mistakes. Thus, the gathering, processing and reporting of production statistics need to be improved.
50. Finally, the economic reforms of the last two years and the steep devaluation of the naira have raised domestic prices and created an environment that will reward producers who are able to curtail the use of imported inputs in their production activities. The implications of this for poultry producers who depend on imported stocks, feeds and drugs are clear. But given the low value of such inputs in the total cost of production of ruminant livestock in Nigeria, the opportunity now exists for increased output of beef, mutton and goat meat. However, this opportunity will be turned into the country's advantage only if a consistent mix of policies is put in place to encourage improved animal husbandry and feeding and an efficient delivery of farm inputs and veterinary supplies. These issues should form part of an overall package of measures to promote structural changes within the LSS.
