The Federal Government has commenced discussions with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation on the development of a livestock tracking system designed to improve the traceability, quality and international marketability of Nigerian animal products.
The proposed system is expected to enable authorities and exporters to track livestock and livestock products from their point of origin through the various stages of production, processing and movement before reaching international markets.
The initiative is part of broader efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s livestock value chain and ensure that products destined for export meet international standards.
The collaboration with UNIDO is expected to provide technical support as Nigeria develops systems capable of documenting the origin and movement of livestock and related products.
Traceability has become an increasingly important requirement in international agricultural trade. Importing countries and international buyers often require exporters to demonstrate where products originated and how they were handled throughout the supply chain.
UNIDO has previously identified traceability as an important component of improving agricultural exports. The organisation provides technical assistance to countries seeking to establish systems that can trace agro-industrial products from their origin to the final market.
For Nigeria’s livestock sector, such a system could provide information about animals, farms, movement, processing and other stages of the supply chain. This could help regulators respond more effectively to disease outbreaks and enable exporters to provide greater assurance about the safety and origin of products.
The proposal also comes as the Federal Government seeks to diversify the economy and increase the contribution of agriculture and agro-processing to export earnings.
Nigeria has a large livestock population and an extensive domestic market, but challenges surrounding animal health, movement control, processing facilities, standards and market access have limited the sector’s ability to fully participate in international trade.
A reliable traceability framework could help address some of these challenges by establishing a documented chain of information connecting livestock to their source and subsequent destination.
Such information can be particularly important when dealing with animal diseases. If a disease outbreak occurs, authorities with access to accurate movement and identification records can potentially identify affected farms, markets or supply chains more quickly and take targeted measures.
The proposed partnership also fits into UNIDO’s broader work with Nigeria on improving industrial capacity, standards and access to international markets. UNIDO supported the establishment of Nigeria’s Trade Information Portal through the Nigeria Export Promotion Council as part of efforts to improve the marketability of Nigerian products and reduce technical barriers to trade.
In February 2026, UNIDO also provided technical support for the development of Nigeria’s first comprehensive industrial policy framework, which focuses among other things on productivity, competitiveness, local value addition, standards enforcement and stronger coordination between government and the private sector.
The livestock tracking proposal could therefore form part of a wider effort to move Nigerian agriculture away from largely informal supply chains towards systems that can satisfy international buyers and regulators.
Beyond exports, a functioning tracking system could provide government with better data on livestock movement and production. Such information could assist policymakers in planning veterinary services, disease-control programmes, infrastructure and investment across the livestock sector.
For exporters, the ability to demonstrate the origin and handling of products could also strengthen confidence among international buyers and potentially open access to markets with strict sanitary and phytosanitary requirements.
However, implementation would require coordination among government agencies, livestock farmers, traders, veterinary professionals, processors and exporters. It would also require reliable identification systems, appropriate technology, trained personnel and mechanisms for maintaining accurate records.
The success of the initiative will ultimately depend on how effectively the proposed system is implemented across Nigeria’s livestock-producing communities and integrated with existing animal-health and agricultural regulatory structures.
As discussions between Nigeria and UNIDO continue, the proposed tracking framework represents an attempt to strengthen the country’s livestock value chain while positioning Nigerian animal products for greater participation in international markets.
