By Olayinka Olawale/Oluwatope Lawanson

The Lagos State Government has inaugurated the Last Mile Meat Shops and Butchers’ Academy to overhaul the process of selling red meat thereby maintaining proper hygiene in the metropolis

Ms Abisola Olusanya, Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture,  stated this at the inauguration of the Last Mile Meat Shops and Butchers’ Academy on Monday at Alausa, Lagos.

Olusanya said that the initiative was to give residents confidence on what they would consume while also making it look presentable with standard facilities to encourage youths to venture into the space.

The commissioner further noted that the essence of the initiative was for residents to embrace butchery and correct the erroneous impression that “the profession is reserved for the illiterates”.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the last mile meat shops are located in Ijeh area of Dolphin Estate, Surulere and Mushin.

Olusanya said that the 20 feet containers designed as pilot scheme for the initiative could be easily transferred from one location to another.

According to her, each meat shop is to be manned by four people allocated a cow slaughtered at Agege Abattoir and brought to them in hygienic manner.

She, therefore, called for more collaboration with the private sector to enlarge the scheme.

Olusanya explained that the initiative was part of the 2021 Five-Year Agriculture Roadmap.

“The journey for the overhauling in the ministry started way back during the time of the former commissioner and now the Oba of Oniruland, Oba Gbolahan Lawal.

“The overhauling in the transportation sector led to the introduction of Eko Meat Van that ended the era of conveying meat through unwholesome practices.

“The cattle feedlot project in Lagos is ongoing and part of the promise made by the Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu led administration which would be delivered soon,” she said.

On his part, the Chairman, Lagos House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture, Mr Olotu Emmanuel, commended the ministry for introducing ideas that would bring food and comfort to the door steps of residents.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture, Dr Oluwarotimi Fashola, said that the initiative was a quality controlled measure in the state to give value for money.

He assured them that all the meat shops would sell in kilogramme by weight for uniformity purpose.

Mr Emmanuel Audu, Permanent Secretary in the ministry, described the event as ground-breaking, adding that issues around meat consumption was important for human existence.

He also noted that food safety could not be overlooked, recalling what brought about COVID-19 from China was all about unhygienic way of handling food.

The permanent secretary further said that the initiative was to assist in value chains in meat distribution.

In his goodwill message, the Chairman, Lagos State Chapter of Butchers’ Association, Alhaji Kazeem Bakare, thanked the Lagos State government for initiating the project described as innovation to his members.

According to him, the association will embrace the new idea of safe handling of cow meat.

He promised that it would bring back some of its members who had left the job.

Bakare urged other states in the country to embrace the innovation to restore sanity to the handling of meat among their residents.

The Managing Director of Palilar Pal Meat International, Mr Olawale Talabi, appreciated the governor for the opportunity.

He noted that the measure would guarantee high hygienic standard for the sale of meat to consumers in the state and allow butchers to earn more money.

Talabi stated that there was huge market for cow meat in Lagos, adding that more than 2,500 cows were slaughtered on a daily basis.

He disclosed that “plans are underway to have the meat shops across the metropolis”.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Kayode Olaitan