Cattle transportation by rail will reduce herdsmen/farmers clashes – Ogbeh

Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has said the North to South transportation of cattle by rail which begin recently will, among other benefits, help to reduce incidences of violent clashes caused by the physical movement of cattle. Speaking at the launch of the project tagged NIRSAL’s Farm to Market scheme, the minister stated that […]

Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has said the North to South transportation of cattle by rail which begin recently will, among other benefits, help to reduce incidences of violent clashes caused by the physical movement of cattle.
Speaking at the launch of the project tagged NIRSAL’s Farm to Market scheme, the minister stated that herdsmen/farmers clash “is a pressing national security problem that the president is committed to resolving and business-driven solutions such as this will help greatly.”
Chief Ogbeh pointed out that to move cattle or beef products from the ranches to the markets especially over long distances to the south, efficient, low cost and controlled logistics such as those defined in the Farm to Market scheme are required.
Also speaking at the event, the Managing Director/CEO, Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing Lending (NIRSAL), Mr. Aliyu Abdulhameed, said the scheme was being operated under partnership with Connect Rail Services; a bulk freight and logistics service provider.
“The objective is to introduce efficiencies into all elements within the agriculture value chain so as to increase profitability, equitable distribution of value in the agriculture value chain and make agriculture a commercially viable business that is good for bank financing,” the Managing Director stated.
The scheme, which also involves transportation of tomatoes, vegetables and other perishable food items, kicked-off recently with the first movement of cattle by rail from Gusua in Zamfara state to Lagos.