Seven states earmark 19 grazing reserves for NLTP implementation ― Minister

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Sabo Nanono has said that 7 states have set aside 19 grazing reserves totalling about 400,000 hectares for the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP).

The Minister also said about 22 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have registered with the NLTP office, out of which 10 states have created their own teams which have been trained by the federal office.

The Minister disclosed this at the opening ceremony of the 44th Meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development held in Abuja.

Alhaji Nanono said the NLTP seeks to transform the livestock sector from a nomadic-dependent sector into an organised ranching one.

“We are all aware of the troubles that our nation is going through with respect to the farmers-herders clashes which have often produced violent and expensive consequences.

“This administration is more committed than ever to resolve this problem on a more permanent solution. The National Livestock Transformation Plan has been adjudged worldwide to be a well-conceived project which seeks to transform our livestock sector from a nomadic-dependent sector into an organized ranching one.

“To this end, 22 State and the Federal Capital Territory have registered with the NLTP Office, out of which 10 States have created their own teams which have been trained by the Federal Office. Seven of these 10 States have also earmarked about 19 Grazing Reserves for the implementation of the NLTP, with a total land size of approximately 400,00 hectares.

“It is, therefore, safe to say, that the NLTP, when fully implemented will bring an end to the incessant clashes between the farmers and herdsmen and at the same time introduce the herders to the modern way of raising cattle, with all the added benefits of improved feeding, improved animal and human health, genetic improvement, value addition and better socio-economic standing for all participants,” the Minister said.

Speaking on farmers’ data, the Minister said there are plans to capture 10 million farmers in the database instead of the initial 2.4 million targets.

“Although we initially set out to capture the data of 2.4million farmers across the country, the results from the exercise have encouraged the Economic Sustainability Plan team to expand the data capture to 10million farmers.

“This database is going to be the platform for government interventions going forward, putting an end to ghost schemes and other unscrupulous practices in the agricultural industry,” he added.

Also speaking, the Country Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Fred Kafeero said the March-April 2021 Cadre Harmonisé (CH) food security analysis conducted in 16 States and FCT projected that a total of 12.83 million people in the affected states would be in an emergency to crisis levels of food and nutrition insecurity.

He stated that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic sustained insurgency in the North-East heightened insecurity in other states and general food price inflation are major drivers of this situation in the country.

“FAO and the UN System in Nigeria are therefore concerned that multiple impacts of COVID-19 and insecurity on economic activity and supply chains are limiting people’s ability to access food, increasingly restricting the cash liquidity of farmers, and handicapping farmers’ ability to produce and market food, which in the longer term could seriously degrade their livelihoods.”

It is important to recognise that the enormous work required to transform agriculture, calls for close collaboration and synergies across Ministries and multiple stakeholders.

He however said advancing value chain development requires effective industrial and trade policies and/or programmes that support the private sector to add value and make our agricultural products competitive at regional and global markets; and expand opportunities for job creation.

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mustapha Shehuri said the theme of this year’s Council Meeting Agriculture and Food Security in the face of COVID-19, Floods and Insecurity” is apt enough and a reminder to the effect that the country is yet to win the fight on COVID-19 pandemic.

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