How to make grazing reserves attractive – Idris Bawa, cattle farmer
Idris Bawa, an architect, is a seasoned cattle farmer with decades of expertise in the field. In this interview with Weekend Trust, he suggests how the government can make grazing reserves work and attract investments. There have been renewed calls for the existing grazing reserves in country to be renovated and resuscitated to allow […]
Idris Bawa, an architect, is a seasoned cattle farmer with decades of expertise in the field. In this interview with Weekend Trust, he suggests how the government can make grazing reserves work and attract investments.
There have been renewed calls for the existing grazing reserves in country to be renovated and resuscitated to allow herders stay. What is your take on this?
These are things that should have been done earlier. If grazing areas have been developed and equipped earlier for pastoralists, I am sure we would have avoided all the crises we are experiencing in the country. I don’t see anything wrong in doing that because not providing the grazing reserves has exposed both pastoralists, farmers and even citizens generally to all kinds of uncontrolled crises within the country. This is because pastoralists sometimes graze on farmlands, which results in serious crises, which at the end have led to loss of so many lives over time. So, I think it is a very good initiative by the government. If the grazing reserves would be fully developed, naturally, it attracts everybody that rears animals because what is making the animals go to other areas is simply because they are looking for greener pastures. If the green pasture, water and everything is provided within the grazing reserve, and we have veterinary services, I don’t even see why anybody that has cattle would go to another place – himself and the cattle will be attracted to such areas. I support this 100 per cent, and I believe it will go a long way towards achieving our goals in the country, to at least reach a certain level of development.
What sort of facilities do you want to see at the grazing reserves?
The facilities required are those that will make people live their lives very well. Aside providing the animals with pasture, water and veterinary services, the pastoralists themselves and their children need schools. There should also be clinics for human beings. And there should be a market, and possibly, abattoirs to attract the private sector that will process the meat and export.
If you just provide a grazing reserve without educating the children, I don’t think you are helping anybody; and you are not even helping the country itself. So providing schools within grazing areas is very important.
It seems that when this is discussed, it is only the federal government that is looked up to; what should state governments do?
I think it is high time that every state government keyed into this programme. They should provide lands for grazing. They can even generate revenues there. Whoever is moving into the grazing area should be properly registered. The number of cattle there or whatever livestock being produced at the reserve should be recorded. The state government will be able to generate a lot of revenue from that. So, I think the earlier we start doing this kind of thing, the better for us.
We have over 400 grazing reserves in the country but some of them have been encroached upon by farmers while some cattle routes have been blocked. What is the way forward?
It is simple. If the government is willing to do it, we just need to sensitise pastoralists, farmers and other Nigerians. Let’s not take this programme as belonging to a particular ethnic group. Let it be for anybody that is interested in pastoralism.
Pastoralism is business, so people should be encouraged to go into it. So I don’t see any reason why Nigerians would not buy that idea. By the time we do that, it is going to control all the crises we are experiencing. It will also contribute to the development of the country. Allowing people to roam with animals in the bush daily does not produce healthy animals.
What is your advice to the government?
The government should take it seriously because developing grazing reserves is not only about pastoralists but also about the country. The government at federal and state levels should provide enough funds to ensure that grazing areas are provided, demarcated and improved so that persons interested can go and set up ranches.