…enduring solution to farmer-herder crisis key to food security — Shettima
…Kebbi governor to chair six-zone panel
The National Economic Council (NEC) has constituted a high-level committee on livestock development to accelerate the implementation of reforms aimed at transforming Nigeria’s livestock sector and resolving the long-running farmer-herder crisis.
The committee was set up on Wednesday during the 155th meeting of the NEC, held virtually, as Vice President Kashim Shettima said only a practical, enduring, and nationally accepted solution to the farmer-herder conflict would guarantee food security in the country.
The Livestock Development Committee is made up of one representative from each of the six geo-political zones: Bauchi State for the North-East, Niger State for the North-Central, Ondo State for the South-West, Imo State for the South-East, Cross River State for the South-South, and Kebbi State for the North-West.
The Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris, will chair the committee.
Other members include the Ministers of Livestock Development, Agriculture and Food Security; Budget and Economic Planning, as well as the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness in the Office of the Vice President.
NEC directed the committee to work with relevant stakeholders to review the recommendations of the Presidential Livestock Reform Committee (PLRC) and proposals submitted by the Ministry of Livestock Development, as well as identify states willing to participate in the implementation of the programme.
The move follows a directive by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of Wednesday, December 10, 2025, mandating the NEC to collaborate with the Ministry of Livestock Development to produce a clear roadmap for transforming Nigeria’s livestock industry.
The ministry subsequently developed a proposal presented to the council for endorsement, to reposition the livestock sector as a modern, peaceful, and profitable engine of national development.
In his opening remarks, Vice President Shettima, who chairs NEC, said food security was a moral obligation to Nigerians but stressed that it could not be achieved without addressing the root causes of farmer-herder violence.
According to a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications Office of the Vice President Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima said “we must acknowledge with absolute regret the deep distrust created by this violence, born out of a trade and an ancestral practice that ought to have remained a central pillar of our food security and rural economy.
“The loss of lives, the destruction of homes, and the devastation of farmlands must end”, he said.
According to him, mismanagement of long-standing tensions between farmers and herders had fuelled conflicts that have spread across the country.
“What started as a challenge of coexistence gradually hardened into cycles of violence that were allowed to persist for far too long without a durable solution.
“Today, that violence respects no geography. It has become a shared nightmare that has scarred every region, disrupted livelihoods, and eroded trust between neighbours who once relied on one another for survival”, the Vice President said.
Shettima commended President Tinubu for what he described as a bold initiative to integrate livestock production into the national economy, noting that the creation of a dedicated Ministry of Livestock Development underscored the administration’s commitment to the sector.
He urged state governors to take the livestock development presentations by the ministry and the PLRC seriously, saying the sector offered major opportunities for economic transformation, conflict resolution, and the restoration of peace in affected communities.
“The presentations before us today offer critical insight into responses designed to confront these realities. They speak directly to stabilising our food systems, restoring confidence in rural economies, and reducing the security pressures that flow from competition over land, water, and livelihoods.
“At their core, these presentations seek to dispel the false choice between agriculture and security by demonstrating that both are inseparable pillars of national stability,” Shettima added.
He assured that the recommendations of the PLRC and the Ministry of Livestock Development would receive priority attention from the Tinubu administration, while calling on sub-national governments to support efforts to fully harness the vast potential of the livestock sector.
