FG to Revamp 417 Grazing Reserves, Roll Out Ranching to Curb Farmers-Herders Crisis

By Victor Idajil

The Federal Government has unveiled plans to rehabilitate 417 grazing reserves nationwide and establish modern ranching settlements in six states worst hit by farmers-herders clashes.

The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, announced this on Tuesday after briefing President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

He listed Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Adamawa and the FCT as priority areas due to their long history of violent conflicts between farmers and herders.

  
Maiha said the government has already mapped the 417 reserves and launched a pilot project in Plateau State to test a new livestock model aimed at reducing cattle movement.

The core of the plan is to move pastoralists away from nomadic herding to settled ranching. To achieve this, the ministry said it is engaging pastoral communities and 34 relevant organisations.

“We recently met with pastoralists led by the Grand Patron of Miyetti Allah and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar. Another meeting will hold within the next two weeks,” the minister said.

He argued that nomadic livestock production is no longer viable because traditional grazing routes have been taken over by farms, urban expansion and infrastructure.  
“Why don’t you provide these resources and stop these animals from moving? Human beings can move; they don’t cause crises. It’s the animals’ movement that normally generates this crisis,” Maiha stated.

Under the proposal, each rehabilitated reserve will be transformed into a self-contained economic community. Planned facilities include housing, veterinary clinics, schools, healthcare centres, solar power and earth dams for irrigating pasture.

The government will also promote commercial pasture cultivation, so grass can be grown within the settlements or cut elsewhere and delivered to the animals.  

Other elements of the plan include breed improvement to enable herders to keep fewer but higher-yielding cattle, attracting milk processors, setting up modular abattoirs, and installing biodigesters.

“At the end of the day, each of those grazing reserves will become an economic hub,” Maiha said.

The ministry will introduce radio-frequency identification tags for cattle to determine ownership, track movement and build a national livestock database.

Maiha added that seven model veterinary clinics have already been constructed, with plans to have at least one model veterinary hospital in every state.

The government is also wooing private investment into modern abattoirs, large-scale dairy farms and commercial fodder production for local markets and export.

The minister said consultations with pastoralists have been smooth so far, and that the overall goal is to reduce conflict while increasing milk and meat output across the country.