Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna state has transformed meat preservation and marketing, by installing modern equipment like cold-chain facilities in abattoirs, in the three senatorial districts.
The Sabon Gari branch of Butchers Association of Nigeria, which commended the governor on Monday, also noted that his intervention enhanced food safety and hygiene, reduced post-slaughter losses and significantly increased butchers’ earnings.
The butchers also commended Governor Uba Sani for upgrading the Zango Shanu Modern Abattoir in Sabon Gari local government area, during a media tour led by the Commissioner of Information and Culture, Malam Ahmed Maiyaki, where journalists inspected some projects in zone one.
Speaking on behalf of the association, Alkasim Mai-Nama recalled that the lack of storage facilities in the past meant butchers were often forced to dispose of unsold meat, resulting in heavy financial losses.
“Before now, if meat remained unsold, we had no option but to throw it away because there was nowhere to preserve it. Today, with the cold rooms provided by Governor Uba Sani’s administration, we can safely store meat for later sale. This has drastically reduced wastage, improved hygiene and increased our daily income,” Mai-Nama said.
He added that the improved sanitary conditions at the abattoir have strengthened public confidence in the safety and quality of meat processed at the facility.
Also speaking, the vice chairman of the Butchers Association of Nigeria, Sabon Gari branch, Jamilu Umar, described the intervention as the most comprehensive rehabilitation of the abattoir since it was established in the early 1980s.
“For more than three decades, we operated under very difficult conditions. There were no functional drainage systems to evacuate blood, water supply was poor, and there were no cold rooms for preservation.
‘’What we have today is a complete transformation that has restored dignity to our work and improved public health standards,” he added.
Earlier, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Malam Murtala Dabo, said the Uba Sani administration has prioritised investments across the livestock value chain to improve productivity, strengthen food security and enhance livelihoods.