Agricultural stakeholders have pointed out the need for Nigeria to embrace ranching, which is the modern-day livestock business practice.
The experts said that if the government did not eradicate open grazing, it would continue to hurt the over $100 billion industry, adding that the creation of a Ministry of Livestock by the Federal Government would be a waste of time and resources.
Though some of the experts commended the initiative of the government on the creation of the ministry, while some posited that creating a ministry was not the solution to the issues affecting the livestock industry in the country.
This group of stakeholders, argued that cattle was not the only animal in the livestock family and mentioned poultry, piggery, ram, goat and fishery, among others, which they said had been neglected, but must be carried along in properly addressing the challenges in the sub-sector.
Some further accused the Federal Government of dancing to the tune of a particular section of the country, maintaining that no headway was made with the ranching option for the open-grazing debate.
Kola Aderibigbe, the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Agric and Agro Allied Group in an interview said creating a Ministry of Livestock Development by President Bola Tinubu was a welcome idea.
Aderibigbe stated that farmers were keen to know the programme of the government on the ministry and how this can address the food insecurity, herder farmers clash and farm invasion in the country.
He posited that the business was an untapped multi-billion-dollar industry that would add to the dairy industry and create more opportunities, but expressed that the government needed to unveil its plans to the public before professionals could comment further on it.
He decried that farmers still suffer from insecurity, intimidation, invasion, destruction, and attacks on their farms by various invaders, stressing that if the creation of the ministry would provide a means for farmers to return to farms and begin to produce food as proposed by Miyetti Allah, it would go a long way in addressing food insecurity in the country.
He said: “We are disappointed with how no headway was made with the ranching option for the open-grazing debate. We wonder why some lawmakers opposed this best practice that will be more nutritious to mankind and profitable to livestock industry development.
“We hope the new government initiative will not be politicised or lead to the conversion of private farmers’ land property for grazing.
“This multi-billion-dollar dairy farming industry could be properly harnessed with modern ranching practices. The industry eco-system can provide more business and investment opportunities for interested investors. Cold-chain will be a great opportunity to be harnessed if properly structured and open to potential investors,” he added.
Udeme Etuk, Managing Director, Chanan Elo’a Integrated Farm Limited, an expert in the dairy industry, however, said that there was no need for the creation of the ministry.
He argued that the Ministry of agriculture was well-equipped to handle the issue of livestock confidently.
He explained that the government need to put round pegs in round holes for it to achieve its purposes.
Etuk who is a prominent member of the Commercial Dairy Ranchers Association of Nigeria, expressed that the problem of the livestock industry had gone beyond Fulanis carrying cows from Sokoto to Lagos, maintaining that until the government was ready to put in the political will, the crisis would continue unabated.
He said: “There is nowhere in the world that you see open grazing, we cannot call ourselves a modern country and we see cows all over the place.
“The government needs to put its feet down, modern-day livestock business is ranching and so if the government does not stop open grazing, everything we are doing, and even the ministry will be a waste of time.”
He further explained that most of the herders seen in the public were not the actual owners of the cows, maintaining that the owners had enough financial resources to set up ranches in their states and run the business comfortably.
He insisted that if the cows were reared in ranches, they will look more attractive and well-fed, while more milk would be produced from them.
He added that the issue of farmers-herders clashes was a political decision, reiterating that absence of political will by the government will continue to escalate the crisis.
“Nowhere in the world they encourage open grazing. Everybody puts their cows in the ranch, if you don’t have a ranch, then you cannot do the business.
“Livestock business is a private business, putting money in a private business or government being interested in a private business calls for concern. Government should be interested in developing the business so that the economy will be developed and people will be developed,” he said.
Sunday Ezeobiora, the National President of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), said that the establishment of the Ministry of Livestock, though it looked like multiplicity and enlarging the already over-bloated cost of governance, was a welcome development.
According to him, having specialised ministries or agencies to handle critical issues of national development was a step in the right direction.
Ezeobiora who is also the Chairman of Sunchi Integrated Farms Limited, noted that if the right crops of technocrats were appointed to oversee the ministry, it would definitely tackle the herder/farmer crisis amongst other multiple issues of livestock development.
He also posited that developing ranching or grazing reserves, which is the modern way of cattle farming, was a key pathway to resolving the crisis.
“One key agenda must be for a partnership of the stakeholders in developing and driving the solutions to problems. The poultry industry is part of the livestock sector and the most commercialised value chain.
“It is my hope that the new ministry will pay greater attention to the practical solutions we had laid before the government and the Ministry of Agriculture, which would have prevented the current near unavailability of grains in the country and worsened food security,” he said.
Ezeobiora opined that the new ministry must, as a matter of urgency, set up a highly consultative conference to proffer and engage on short-term to long term solutions to the myriad of problems facing the livestock industry.
Also, Wale Oyekoya, an agriculturist, explained that the newly created ministry was a welcome development if it would tackle the issue of insecurity from herders and farmers.
He said for the Livestock ministry to work, open grazing must be abolished, while ranching and farm settlement should be encouraged in local governments.
He said for it to tackle the herdsmen and farmers clashes, all the AK47 in the hands of the herders and bandits must be surrendered or else they would still be using it to terrorise innocent citizens and farmers.
He said: “Part of the agenda of the President of the Livestock Ministry is to put a round peg in a round hole for it to be successful. It should not look as if it’s a politically motivated ministry for one region or section.
“The power to allocate lands is within the power of the State Government, Land Use Act of 1978 and so they must be carried along. Develop a value chain from the Livestock ministry to create jobs for the youths and export some of the bye-products and improve on our foreign reserves.”
Kabir Ibrahim, the National President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in his view, also described the creation of the ministry as a welcome development, which had excited livestock farmers.
He said he took part in the livestock reform committee that proposed its creation and that the stakeholders were glad that Mr. President Tinubu acceded to it.
He suggested that the ministry should go beyond the bureaucratic bottlenecks, which impeded the seamless implementation of policy and set out to develop a robust livestock industry that would take care of the nutritional security of our nation.
He suggested that the ministry should set up a mechanism to improve the livestock sector generally and tackle the perennial farmer/herder conflict by encouraging the herders to be sedentary by creating ranches and re-establishing their grazing routes and grazing reserves along with facilities for their welfare.
Ibrahim also said that the transparent management of the Livestock Ministry and sticking to the terms of reference to be evolved by the implementation committee set up for that purpose would provide the impetus for a better farmer/herder harmony, thereby reducing or completely eliminating conflict between them.
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