Gombe state Commissioner of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Muhammad Magaji Gettado has assured of the determination of the state government to transform the Wawa Zange grazing reserve as a way of keying into the vision of the National Livestock Transformation Programme of the Federal Government.
The Commissioner gave the assurance when led other government functionaries to inspect the progress of work on the grazing reserve which is aimed at ending the frequent farmers/herders clashes in the state necessitated by open grazing of cattle.
The Sites inspected by the Commissioner include the completed 20-bed capacity hospital, the ongoing construction of a veterinary clinic and a large expanse of ware hay currently being nurtured to maturity.
Other areas visited by the Commissioner and members of his entourage included the already dredged dams located at the grazing reserve settlements centre and the one in Galumji recently awarded by the administration of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya to harvest more rainwater for the benefit of the livestock.
The Commissioner who expressed satisfaction with the level of work at the grazing reserve, however, challenged the contractor handling the veterinary clinic to speed up work so that herders can begin to enjoy services to be provided there.
He said that when eventually completed, the grazing reserve will house 6 hospitals, 6 veterinary clinics, a milk collection centre, 16 boreholes and a modern abattoir to add up to the existing schools for nomadic education.
The Commissioner added that “Gombe State Government will leave nothing to chance. We will employ health workers and veterinary staff to man each facility when completed and ready for use and we are going to equip these facilities with state of the art equipment.”
He also said that Gov Inuwa Yahaya is committed to the successful completion of the project hence the award of contract for the dredging of two earth dams which were left unattended to since it was dug some 40 years ago.
Muhammad Magaji Gettado equally maintained that Gombe was among the first states to key into the Federal Government’s Livestock Transformation Project, which identified the Wawa-Zange grazing reserve as the pilot site, saying the state is taking maximum advantage of the grazing reserve, which is a gazetted reserve with over 140, 000 hectares and carrying capacity of about 2 million heads of cattle and other small ruminants.
In his remarks, Emir of Dukku where the grazing reserve is located, Alhaji Haruna Abdulkadir Rashid II commended the State Governor, for working in synergy with the federal government and other relevant agencies to ensure the smooth implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Programme which seeks to boost the production of livestock and its value chain in the country.
The Emir gave the commendation when the Commissioner of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Muhammad Magaji Gettado called on him at his palace in Dukku shortly after undertaking a tour of Wawa-Zange grazing reserve in a string of visits to inspect completed and ongoing projects at the colony to make it habitable for herders and their animals.
The monarch said that his emirate council is in full support of the initiative because of the fact that if fully implemented, the programme will not only help herders from risky distant travels by foot but will also curtail the perennial farmers/herders clashes.
He particularly praised Gov Inuwa’s passion and determination towards ensuring the revival of the Wawa-Zange grazing reserve and for his wonderful policies targeted at revamping agricultural activities and livestock production in the state.
It will be recalled that Gov Inuwa had while featuring in a special NTA’s current affairs programme Tuesday Live last week, said his administration is working assiduously to explore various value chain opportunities in the livestock sector through the planned dedication of about 250 hectares in the proposed Gombe industrial park for the agricultural industrial cluster.
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