• Nigeria created a national task force to combat CBPP, a disease with up to 50% mortality.

• Authorities recorded 131 outbreaks across 17 states in 2025.

• Livestock contributes 35% to Nigeria’s agricultural GDP, increasing the economic stakes.

Nigeria intensified efforts to combat contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), a major livestock disease that continues to undermine cattle production and farmer incomes.

Authorities identified CBPP, alongside foot-and-mouth disease, as one of the most significant threats to cattle globally. The disease poses a critical risk in Nigeria, where livestock accounts for 35% of agricultural gross domestic product.

CBPP causes appetite loss, fever, increased respiratory rate, coughing, nasal discharge, and painful breathing in infected animals. The World Organisation for Animal Health states that the disease can reach mortality rates of up to 50%, although clinical signs often remain difficult to detect.

Nigeria’s Ministry of Livestock Development inaugurated a technical task force on April 9 to define control measures against CBPP.

The ministry stated that the task force will guide the development of a coherent and actionable national control framework. Authorities aim to strengthen disease surveillance systems and improve the effectiveness of vaccination programs through this initiative.

This move reflects growing concern as CBPP remains endemic across the country.

Government data show that officials recorded 131 outbreaks in 2025 across 17 states and all six geopolitical zones.

Authorities had already identified cases in 17 states in 2024, according to the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS).

However, officials acknowledged that these figures likely underestimate the true burden. Limited surveillance coverage, weak reporting compliance, and diagnostic constraints continue to obscure the full scale of infections.

“This situation reflects a disease not only deeply rooted in our production systems but also sustained by structural challenges that we must now confront decisively,” the ministry said in a statement.

Economic Impact: Heavy Losses for Farmers

Animal diseases impose significant economic costs on Nigeria’s livestock sector, directly affecting food security and rural livelihoods. NAERLS data show that CBPP affected 3,500 cattle in Taraba State in 2024. The outbreak killed 700 animals and forced authorities to cull 138 more to contain its spread.

These losses reduced the availability of key animal products such as milk and meat, at a time when the government seeks to increase domestic production.

Nigeria faces additional pressure from other endemic cattle diseases, including foot-and-mouth disease and anthrax, which further weaken livestock performance.

The country’s production model compounds these challenges. Most cattle are raised under pastoral systems by nomadic and semi-nomadic herders, which deliver lower productivity than intensive farming systems. NAERLS estimated Nigeria’s cattle population at 64.8 million head in 2024.

Stéphanas Assocle