Butchers in Sabon Gari Local Government Area of Kaduna State have praised Governor Uba Sani for upgrading abattoirs and introducing modern cold-chain equipment that they say has improved meat preservation, hygiene and earnings across the state’s three senatorial districts.
The Sabon Gari branch of the Butchers Association of Nigeria gave the commendation on Monday during a media tour of projects in Zone One, organised by the Commissioner for Information and Culture, Malam Ahmed Maiyaki. Journalists inspected the upgraded Zango Shanu Modern Abattoir among other facilities.
Speaking for the association, Alkasim Mai-Nama said the new storage facilities had ended years of losses caused by unsold meat going to waste.
“Before now, whenever meat was not sold, we had no place to keep it, so we were forced to throw it away. With the cold rooms provided by Governor Uba Sani’s administration, we can now preserve meat safely for later sale. This has reduced waste, improved cleanliness and increased our daily income,” he said.
Mai-Nama added that the improved sanitary conditions had also boosted public trust in the quality of meat processed at the facility.
The Vice Chairman of the association, Jamilu Umar, described the rehabilitation as the most extensive since the abattoir was established in the early 1980s.
“For over 30 years, we worked in very difficult conditions. There were no proper drainage systems, water supply was poor and there were no cold rooms for preservation. What we have today is a total transformation that has restored dignity to our work and improved public health standards,” Umar said.
The Sarkin Fawan Badawa, Musa Dalhat Abubakar, said the perimeter fence built around the abattoir had improved security and protected the investments of butchers and livestock traders.
“For more than three decades, the abattoir was open to encroachment and theft because there was no fence. Today, our businesses are safer, and the better infrastructure has attracted traders from Katsina and Zamfara states, expanding commercial activity and supporting the local economy,” he said.
Earlier, the Kaduna State Commissioner for Agriculture, Malam Murtala Dabo, said the administration had made livestock development a priority in order to strengthen food security, improve productivity and support livelihoods.
He said 19 pastoralist communities had been provided with pasture fields and solar-powered boreholes to reduce seasonal migration and ease farmer-herder tensions.
“By providing grazing support and water infrastructure, we are helping pastoralists remain in designated settlements, increasing meat and dairy production while encouraging peaceful coexistence,” Dabo said.
The commissioner added that the state had built three modern abattoirs in Kawo, Kafanchan and Zango Shanu, alongside 21 slaughterhouses across Kaduna State to strengthen the livestock value chain.
According to him, the facilities are fitted with cold rooms, deep freezers, display refrigerators, hygienic meat shops, solar-powered boreholes and water-heating systems to ensure safe processing, storage and distribution.
He said the upgraded Zango Shanu Modern Abattoir reflects the Uba Sani administration’s commitment to public health, food safety, reduced waste, higher incomes for livestock actors and Kaduna State’s growing role as a hub for meat processing in Nigeria.
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