FG okays grazing reserves kick-off in 21 states

The Federal Government has approved the establishment of grazing reserves in the 19 northern states and two others in the South-West, Oyo and Ogun.
It said the 21 states would to kick-start the National Livestock Transformation Plan and address the perennial herder-farmer crisis in many parts of the country.
Minister of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, Nanono Sambo, said in Abuja on Thursday during the 44th regular meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development that 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had registered with the NLTP’s office.
He said a Dutch consortium was partnering with the government to begin the pilot phase for the project in Nasarawa State.
He added that the site would serve as a hub for knowledge and skill transfer to the pastoral communities and encourage them to adopt ranching as a mode of farming.
The minister said, “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.”
He said when fully implemented, the NLTP would bring an end to the incessant clashes and introduce the herders to the modern way of raising cattle, with all the added benefits of improved feeding, animal and human health, genetic improvement, value addition and better socio-economic standing for participants.
He stated that the scheme had been adjudged well-conceived globally, with the government resolving to create an enabling environment to attract more investments into the sub-sector.
However, to ensure effective monitoring of government interventions in the agriculture sector, the current administration has established an online portal to capture bio-data of 10 million farmers and link them with their plots, crops and volumes of production in the country.
He said the government initially intended to capture 2.4 million farmers but ended up extending the target to 10 million on the advice of the Economic Sustainability Plan Team.