Public organizations demand the disclosure of details regarding the agreement with JBS.

During a workshop in Abeokuta, Ogun State, members of the Youth in Agroecology and Restoration Network (YARN) and other stakeholders expressed concern over the plans of the Brazilian company JBS to establish six large-scale livestock complexes. According to experts, the public should have access to the terms of the memorandum to assess the potential risks: economic, social, health-related, and environmental.

YARN’s Director of Consulting, Oluwaseyi Olawuyi, noted that the organizations are not opposed to attracting foreign investment; however, they insist on the need to create protection mechanisms for local communities and the environment. Activists fear a repetition of the negative experience seen in the oil and gas sector. Currently, attempts to obtain the document have met with conflicting responses: the Federal Ministry of Livestock points to the states, while authorities in Ogun, Niger, and Cross River states redirect requests back to the federal level.

A representative of the Advocacy on Conservation Innovation and Green Initiative Concept, Bashiru Okanlawon, highlighted the lack of transparency: he stated that none of the stakeholders have yet seen the text of the agreement. Participants at the event expressed concern about the potential consequences for small-scale farms, including land-use conflicts, groundwater pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, and issues related to antibiotic resistance.

Following the meeting, a resolution was adopted calling on the government to publicly disclose the document and conduct an independent assessment of the environmental and social impacts of the projects before they are implemented. As an alternative to industrial livestock production, experts proposed developing agroecology, regenerative agriculture methods, and the diversification of protein sources.