Minister, Jega commend Zulum over ranches for herders

Amidst growing clashes between herders and farmers and the dwindling livestock trade in Nigeria, Borno State has launched the first livestock development ranch settlement as part of measures to provide a solution. The project, perhaps the first to be inaugurated in the country, was built by the Borno State government with the federal government’s support […]

Amidst growing clashes between herders and farmers and the dwindling livestock trade in Nigeria, Borno State has launched the first livestock development ranch settlement as part of measures to provide a solution.

The project, perhaps the first to be inaugurated in the country, was built by the Borno State government with the federal government’s support in Ngarannam, Mafa Local Government Area.

Ngarannam is known for its vast grasslands and favourable climate for raising cattle. Daily Trust correspondent reports that government has put enough facilities, such as housing estate, clinic, cattle troughs, sick bay and veterinary clinic.

Also,a modern feedlots with a capacity to serve hundreds of cows and a state-of-the-art dairy and beef upgrading centres were provided.

Beneficiaries were also given relief packages consisting food and non-food items, pasture development centre, milk collection centre, earth dam’s, local markets, and security outposts.

Speaking at the event on Saturday, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, said the ranch would accommodate 461 households from 18 herder communities, who were displaced by Boko Haram terrorists.

“Also, every head of household would be given a bull, a heiper and N50,000, while their wives would have he-goat, a she-goat and N20,000,” he said.

Zulum noted the ranch was his administration’s pet project aimed at revitalising rural livelihoods and mitigating the challenges posed by insurgency and displacement.

“This project reflects our vision to rebuild and transform Borno. It aligns with the Borno State 25 Year Development Plan and our 10-Pact Agenda.

“Beyond infrastructure, it represents hope, resilience and progress for our people,” he added.

The governor said he has three of such projects, one in each of senatorial zones of the state.

In his address, the Minister of Livestock Development, Muktar Idi  Maiha, said the settlement would serve as a peace building mission and improve the security situation in Borno

“More youths and women will enjoy the livestock and the value chain activities in modernising livestock production, which are too numerous to mention,” he said.

The minister also described the initiative as capable of improving food security and restoring the livelihoods of people in the affected communities.

“The commissioning of this settlement underscores the federal government’s commitment to transforming the livestock sector into a vibrant, productive and sustainable industry.

“The Ngarannam settlement will provide a sustainable and climate-smart environment for livestock production, address farmers/herders clashes, and support the value chain for livestock and dairy products,” the minister said.

Maiha also explained that the facilities put in place by the state are well designed to meet international standards for meat and dairy production.

He said the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development is currently embarking on two interventions to support the effort of the state government to harvest the inherent potential of the sector.

“This includes but not limited to the rehabilitation of the grazing reserves and livestock markets across the country. Breed improvement and vaccination as you have just seen here against trans-boundary animals diseases such as foot and mouth disease, CBPP, etcetera..

“Furthermore, the feed and fodder value chain is being organised through the productive alliance models for sustainable production. The goal is to transform the feed and fodder component of the value chain into a growing business that would support and guarantee profit for the farmers.’’

Prof Attahiru Jega, while delivering his key note address said the project would revive economic opportunities that Nigerians are craving for.

Jega, who is the Co-chair, Presidential Livestock Development Reform Committee, said it was a project that any good leader should embark upon.

He noted that with the facilities he had seen in the ranch, the federal government would not only support it but ensure that it matured and becomes sustainable.

He regretted how Nigerian leaders became blinded by petrol revenue and abandoned the vast potentials of agriculture, which served as the pillar of Nigeria’s economy at independence.

“Now, agriculture and livestock sector in particular, can still be middle pillars of Nigeria’s national economy, if only we can refocus and reprioritise and reposition them appropriately,” he said.

He called for urgent transformative reforms in Nigeria’s livestock sector to enhance productivity, reduce poverty, generate wealth and bolster domestic and international trade through import substitution.

“For example, a local cattle average around 250kg, while exotic breeds can weigh between 801,000 kilograms at the same age, this disparities underscore the urgent need for transformative reforms in Nigeria’s livestock sector.

“We are very impressed to see what has been commenced here and the potential for expansion and sustainability” he said.

Also the deputy governor of Borno State, who is also the overseeing commissioner, Ministry of Livestock, said that the initiative was to enhance productivity, food security and rural empowerment.

He said system was implemented in such a way that it will equally support farming activities, especially irrigation.

“The Ngarannam ranch is equipped with over 27 essential facilities, including a breeding centre, earth dams and solar-powered boreholes for irrigation and livestock needs. Also, a 200-hectare of rain-fed pasture had been cultivated as meadow to support year-round grazing,” he added.

He said two more livestock development ranch projects have reached 90 per cent completion, one in each of the northern and southern parts of the state.

“For centuries, this occupation has been engaging by the majority of people in the state. Unfortunately, the complexity of the herders, farmers’ conflict and ban on open grazing had crippled the business”

Fanne Mamman, a beneficiary of the scheme, whose husband was equally handed a key to a house in the estate, a bull, a heifer, mattress and mats said they lived a difficult live for 10 years before the Saturday’s intervention.

“We thank Allah that Ngarannam has been secured from the Boko Haram, where you are standing today used to be a route of the boys (terrorists).

“Today, this place has been secured and we were returned. I was given a she-goat,  a he-goat, N20,000 with food and non-food items. While my husband had received a bull, a heifer and N50,000. It’s actually a new lease of life,” she said.

Another 56-year-old pastoralist, Yusuf Zannah, who benefitted from the gesture, said he lost his herds to Boko Haram terrorists that attacked his village and rustled the many livestock.

“Many herdsmen you see here are victims of such atrocities. Initially, they tax us to pay with either money or animal, but things later got worse when they started killing people and escaped with the animals,” he said.

Zannah said, with the livestock development ranch settlement, and the donation of animals, many of them recover their losses.

“With the bull, a heifer and N50, 000 many of us will turn them into fortunes. My father gave me a calf as a kid, I raised it and it multiplied to over 30 cows,” he said.

Daily Trust reports that former President Muhammad Buhari conceived an idea of establishing Rural Grazing Areas, RUGA scheme to proffer solution, to farmers. herders clashes but it was vehemently resisted by some Nigerians.