The Kwara State Government has initiated a training tour and capacity building programme series for Livestock farmers across the 16 Local Government Areas of the state to study, learn from successful livestock farms, and adopt sustainable best practices in animal husbandry for implementation on their farms.
The series began with a visit to Milkin Barn dairy farm on Thursday, January 29, 2026.
The state Commissioner for Livestock Development, Mrs Oloruntoyosi Ayobola Thomas, took with her a group of 35 livestock farmers along with other Kwara state government officials for the visit.
Mrs Thomas in her opening remarks mentioned that the training tour is meant to broaden the knowledge of Kwara farmers on ranching and boost productivity across the livestock sector.
She further explained that the study and coaching tour is designed to standardize and deepen the application of good ranching practices at their various farms.
The Commissioner told participants that the Ministry is focused on building a modern and commercially viable livestock industry that supports food security and economic diversification.
Mrs Thomas advised the participants to leverage the knowledge gained during the tour to improve the efficiency of operations on their farms in order to realize significant benefits and development.
The Director, Livestock Services of the Ministry, Alhaji Muhammed Umar Ahmed, had in his remarks, explained that the programme supports the National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy – which places farmers at the core of efforts to modernize production systems, strengthen animal welfare practices and raise national output.
The Managing Director, Milkin Barn Agroserv, Mr. Tony Jibunoh, urged the participants to embrace new innovation and modern technologies to improve their farms’ efficiency, boost yield and ensure food security.
A cross section of the farmers in their separate remarks, described the tour as an eye-opener, praising the state government for facilitating the study tour.
They further explained that the tour had enriched their knowledge on ranching and exposed them to modern technologies to improve overall efficiency on their farms.
The participants received training on good animals husbandry practices, animal welfare, pasture, feed management, waste management, breeding and reproduction.
Government Officials and Kwara livestock entrepreneurs that accompanied the Commissioner on this first tour included; the Special Adviser, Strategy, Hon Atiku Abdulsalam, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Livestock Development, Alhaji Yahaya Mohammed, the Director, Livestock Services, Alhaji Muhammad Umar Ahmed, the Chief Veterinarian Officer, Dr Idiat Aminu, Adun-Green Partners, CEO Mercy Sweet Honey, CEO of Agripreneur Insights TV and members of the newly created Kwara State Ranchers Association.