Over recent years, Fulani cattle rearers and farmers have been involved in numerous bloody clashes as livestock damage crops during migration. This has in turn led to farmers confronting the heavily-armed Fulani herdsmen who have often attacked back ferociously with automatic weapons like AK47s.
In a bid to address the problem, the government has been urged to establish special grazing reserves where herdsmen can take their cattle away from farming communities. Agriculture minister Chief Audu Ogbeh, announced the new plans when the he recently received the surveyor-general of the federation, Ebisintei Awudu in his office.
Chief Ogbeh said the resolve of government would improve agribusiness in the livestock sector by expanding it to include commercial production of grass in the southern part of the country to feed cattle. He added that it would bring to an end the roaming of the cattle-rearers and the perennial conflicts between the pastoralists and crop farmers in different parts of the nation.
According to Chief Ogbeh some grasses that produce 28% crude protein, brought from Brazil and which had been subjected to 16 years of research, would be brought in for use under this programme. He added that the continued existence of cattle grazing and stock routes would continue to breed conflicts and deaths.
Chief Ogbeh said: “By the end of April this year, the first grass supply may have arrived or could be on the way to the country. We are taking a radical step and we are going to grow grass on a very large scale across the country.
“We just have to grow grass. The largest cattle ranch in the world is in Saudi Arabia with 153,000 cows and the country sells milk to other gulf states but they buy grass from Sudan and US and are planning to buy more from Ethiopia.”
In addition, Chief Ogbeh said that northern Nigeria had many dams that could be used for irrigation and cultivation of grass, in addition to what would be done in the south. While noting that the old grazing reserve system was no longer feasible as states were having problems with it, Chief Ogbeh said if the grass programme was well implemented, Nigeria should have no roaming of cattle in another five years.
“If certain countries sell grass to Saudi Arabia, there is no reason we cannot grow grass in Nigeria in the south and sell to the north of this country,” he added. Mr Awudu, said his office was ready to assist the agriculture ministry in survey and mapping of soils, placement of canals and other infrastructure and site selection for animal husbandry.
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