Govt Issues Yellow Card On Open Grazing, Begins Sensitising Herders On Ranching Option
PN360/FO… The Federal Government has opened up on its determination to establish modern ranching settlements as open grazing has been ruled no longer sustainable.
To secure the buy-in of pastoralists the Federal Government has engaged over 34 organisations to seek their support for the transition from nomadic livestock production to ranching.
Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, disclosed this on Tuesday while speaking with State House correspondents after his meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Maiha met with Tinubu to brief him on the activities of his Ministry, which was established in July 2024 as part of efforts to address the perennial herders-farmers clashes and also mainstream livestock into the national economy.
The Minister revealed that modern ranching settlements would be established in Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Adamawa states, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He also disclosed that 417 grazing reserves have been identified nationwide for the commencement of the pilot scheme to promote the new livestock production model designed to reduce the movement of cattle and, ultimately, mitigate the crisis between herders and farmers.
He told newsmen that his Ministry also met with the leadership of the Grand Patron of Miyetti Allah and Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, disclosing that another round of engagement has been slated within two weeks.
Restating why ranching has become imperative, the Minister submitted that grazing routes had since disappeared as a result of expansion of farms, rapid urbanisation and growing demand for land for infrastructure.
He said: “Large number of cattle on the move is crisis-prone because, number one, the grazing routes have disappeared. Farms, large farms have come up, aggressive urbanisation, demand for land for infrastructure development, so many other things have made nomadism not sustainable.”
Honourable Maiha maintained that provision of feed and water within designated settlements would remove the need for constant cattle movement across states of the Federation.
“Why don’t you provide these resources in situ and stop these animals from moving? Human beings can move; they don’t cause crisis. It’s the animals’ movement that normally generates this crisis.”
