The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Cattle

  • Cattle destroys UNILORIN’s research centre

    Cattle destroys UNILORIN’s research centre

    •School to sack herdsmen

    University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) Vice Chancellor Prof. Sulyman Abdulkareem has lamented the destruction of the institution’s multi-million naira research and training farms by cattle.

    Also destroyed are sundry economic trees’ plantations.

    This is coming almost a year after the university issued a quit notice to herdsmen who settled on the land.

    The school, on April 26, 2017, gave the Fulani herdsmen a seven-day ultimatum to quit. But they did not comply.

    A security meeting with the leaders of the 11 Fulani settlements was held. The meeting was attended by representatives of law enforcement agencies. Abdulkareem ordered the illegal settlers, who had begun building permanent structures, to vacate the land.

    On May 11, 2017, 28 persons, comprising Fulani herdsmen, Yoruba and Hausa farmers, were sued at an Ilorin Chief Magistrate’s Court for allegedly trespassing on the university’s land, destroying the school’s plantation and perpetrating other unauthorised activities.

    They were accused of poisoning the school dam with chemicals and illegal felling of economic trees.

    At last Thursday’s meeting, the Vice Chancellor told the Fulani settlers that “enough is enough”, stressing that the university could no longer condone the destructive activities of their cattle.

    He said: “This is becoming too costly for the institution to bear. We have a multi-million naira programme that is currently at stake now because the herdsmen have gone to the extent of uprooting cassava for their cattle to feed on.”

    Abdulkareem explained that the meeting was to agree on a specific time frame for the herdsmen and other illegal settlers to vacate the land.

    “And once we agree, they cannot spend one day after that on our land,” he added.

    The Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, Usman Adamu, said the herdsmen destroying the university farm were not living in the community. He noted that there were other ethnic groups embarking on illegal activities, such as logging, but were not differentiated from the Fulani.

    Adamu stressed that the Fulani had been living peacefully in the environment and had even helped in checking crime, such as kidnapping and robbery, which hitherto occurred on the campus.

    The herdsmen appealed for time and pledged to come up with a response by February 22.

    Representatives of security agencies stressed that drastic measures will be taken to ensure that the university’s investments remain secured.

  • Ogun warns against cattle rearing in forest reserves

    Ogun warns against cattle rearing in forest reserves

    The Ogun State government has warned against rearing of cattle in both private and government owned forest reserves across the State.

    The State Commissioner for Forestry, Chief Kolawole Lawal who gave this warning while speaking with press men in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, said that allowing grazing in the forest reserves would be inimical to the State government efforts at rejuvenating and preserving the reserves.

    Lawal stated that government had on several occasions, stressed the need for people to engage in tree planting and protecting new tree seedlings, so as to achieve its forest regeneration mission, adding that mechanism like capacity building, patrols, protection and monitoring, as well as Assets Safe Guarding Initiatives, were geared towards protecting the State’s forest reserves.

    He called on investors to support the government at mitigating climate change, through the establishment of private forest reserves and protection of forest resources.

    ‘’It is very important that private investors complement government efforts in tree planting and forest protection, to reduce deforestation and forest degradation, which aid climate change and its attendant consequences’’, he said.

  • Farmers/Herders Crisis: FG insists on cattle colony

    Farmers/Herders Crisis: FG insists on cattle colony

    The Federal Government has restated its determination to establish the controversial cattle colonies as part of measures to end the persistent crisis between farmers and pastoralists.

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, while receiving the formal report of the National Livestock conference, held on 25th September 2017, at his office , at the weekend in Abuja said federal government’s proposal to set up cattle colonies and ranches remain the best option.

    In attendance at the conference held at the International Conference Centre were Commissioners for Agriculture from the 36 states and their representatives among other key stakeholders in the livestock sector.

    Ogbeh described the initiative as capable of permanently checkmating the wanton killings, hatred and attacks between the herdsmen and farmers.

    He expressed grief and serious concern on fatal dimension the issue is taking with assurance to solving the problem.

    “We have listened to what people have said and we recognize people’s rights to freedom of expression: but let me reiterate once again that the government is not seizing land of any Nigerian to give to Fulani herdsmen for them to colonize. The Programme is also not an appeasement of Fulanis at the detriment of crop farmers either. If today, we as Government and citizens don’t find a practical solution to the problem as quickly as possible, it will get worse tomorrow.

    “We didn’t envisage how much high voltage emotion and politicking this issue has generated. It is one of our characteristics as a country that we live with. We needed to educate the herdsmen, educate every one of us of the need to move away from what we were doing before that is bringing conflict for many reasons; avoiding crisis and making this industry more productive.

    “I know that the average herdsman is more concerned about the number of his herds than perhaps the milk coming out, about the speed the cattle can grow and the value of the meat, which is why he needs education. More than this, we also have the leaders, the politicians; we all need education on this,” he said.

    In a statement issued by the ministry’s Director of Information, Tolu Makinde, the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Dr. Gideon Mshebwalla, while presenting the report to the minister said the committee identified lack of access to land, low productivity, old practice of open grazing, lack of access to finance, inadequate water provision, inefficient landholding, poor infrastructure and support facilities including low level of extension facilities as being the major factors militating against optimal development of the sector.

    The committee further recommended resuscitation of the grazing reserves, encouragement of private people to go into setting up ranches in addition to the federal government idea to setup cattle colonies.

    The committee urged federal government to intervene in the provision of infrastructures and support services like roads, electricity, water, improved pasture and provision of extension services as well as empowering the Agricultural Research Institutes to invest on research that will be accessible to the end users.

    Ogbeh, who lauded the committee for the job well done, announced that the committee will play a major role in implementing the decision of the government.

    Other members of the committee includes Mr. John Taiwo of the Dept of Animal Husbandry Services, Alhaji Auwal Maidabino of Planning and Policy Coordination, Food and Agriculture Organisation representative, Mr. Hammed Sanni, a representative of Kogi State Government and Engr. Kola  Owolabi  of the Federal Department of Agriculture of the Ministry.

    The Minister revealed that a Sensitization Programme to educate the herders, farmers and the communities including the politicians is underway.

  • Killer-herdsmen and the logic of accommodation (2)

    Killer-herdsmen and the logic of accommodation (2)

    In an era of an enormous explosion in the population of both humans and cattle, open grazing has proven to be an unsustainable approach to cattle breeding and rearing because of its inherent potentials for conflict. This is not a question of ethnicity or religion. It is simply an economic matter. Provided their herders do not, cattle do not discriminate between grass and crops. They are all food. Neither do they discriminate between the farmlands of Hausa, Fulani, Tiv, Biron, Igbo, Edo or Yoruba. Every farmland they are led through is suitable for feeding. Cattle are equal-opportunity feeders. No one can blame them.

    Now, as for herdsmen, you would expect some modicum of respect for crops on farmland and for the principle of non-trespass on the economic privacy of others. But when legitimate fodder is unavailable, and their cattle are on the verge of starvation, ethical concerns could take the back of the burner. It is a case of competing economic demands where they can get away with it. And since they are not sure that they will easily get away with it, they prudently, even if immorally, arm themselves with AK-47s. It’s the philosophy of armed robbery, isn’t it? Armed robbers claim no moral consciousness. They simply want your good and in case you resist, they must prepare against your stubbornness.

    Farmers, on the other hand, are like homeowners who are defenseless against armed robbers. They only rely on the rule of law and on its enforcers for protection. And while the latter have shirked their responsibilities for far too long in the matter of the atrocities committed by herdsmen, whether foreigners or indigenes, the recent events have called attention to the need for government to wake up.

    Predictably, state governments have taken up the challenge against the backdrop of violence against their residents by herdsmen, with policies ranging from anti-open grazing laws to various forms of accommodation regulations. One such accommodation regulation is the registration of herdsmen in some states and regulations governing sanctions when cattle destroy farm crops. Some states also include laws against cattle rustling or killing by farmers.

    One problem with such regulations is their effectiveness. Chief Olu Falae has been on the receiving end of herdsmen brutality with his kidnapping and the repeated destruction of his crops to the latest case of arson on his farm. While he is certain that herdsmen were responsible, the Police have not been able to identify and arrest the culprits as far as we know. Therefore, the various state efforts to regulate open grazing and prevent conflict and destruction are simply ineffective band-aids on a festering national wound.

    It is because of the realization of the futility of such approaches that some state governors and legislators have gone to the extreme of banning open grazing within the confines of their states. Can we really blame them? They were elected to protect the lives and properties of their citizens and they are simply doing their job how best they know under the circumstances that they face.

    Miyetti-Allah has rejected anti-open grazing laws because it is inimical to the economic well-being of their members. Herdsmen are pastoralists by nature and culture, we are told. Is this true? Herdsmen may be cattle breeders and cattle rearers. But does this commit them to a life of nomadism. The ancient Hebrews, the ancestors of the present citizens of the State of Israel, were cattle breeders and herders. They were as nomadic as our Fulani herdsmen. But Israelites have modernized the art of cattle breeding. As the Minister of Agriculture has also observed, the cattle that is made to travel hundreds of miles on foot are not happy cattle at the end of the journey, that is, if they make it to the end. And what about the waste of the potentials of young men and women condemned to a lifetime of nomadism? Culture is simply not a good argument for open grazing.

    If not open grazing, then, what is the alternative?  Perhaps Miyetti-Allah is not opposed to alternatives to open grazing. Perhaps what they are against is finding and negotiating those alternatives prior to the promulgation of anti-open grazing laws. Granted, but states have limited alternatives. Most of their residents, for whom they are politically and responsible, are farmers, not herders. Again, it is not a matter of ethnicity. They simply do not feel a sense of obligation to non-residents. This is the political reality of a federal system. It is why in the United States, citizenship of the country does not confer on residents the same privileges in different states. For example, non-residents pay higher tuition when they register as students in state colleges other than their own. Thus, a student resident of Maryland pays in-state tuition in Maryland state colleges while a student from New York pays higher non-resident tuition when registered in a Maryland state college.

    Having come to an appreciation of its indispensable role as an arbiter in a matter of great importance that can tear the nation apart, the Federal government has now taken up the matter. But what are the options being canvassed?  First, it came up with the idea of grazing reserves, which was first presented as a bill to the National Assembly in 2008. Second, it toyed with the idea of ranching. Third, it seems that the government has now settled on the idea of cattle colonies.

    Two points are important to note here. First, each of the suggested alternatives-grazing reserves, ranching, cattle colonies-requires the availability of a large landmass and ownership of land across the nation is governed by different customs and conventions. Therefore, the federal government will not find it easy to acquire land simply by fiat. It is gratifying that the Minister of Agriculture has, for all intents and purposes, come to terms with this reality. Second, herdsmen, whose culture and economic needs require to engage in cattle breeding, are only one link in the chain of links in the industry. There are other links including the wealthy businessmen who invest in livestock farming and employ the herdsmen, just as we have commercial famers and the farmhands who are the face of the industry.

    Commercial farmers buy their farmlands from landowners or they lease those lands from state governments. In addition, commercial farmers buy their equipment and the services of agronomists, soil scientists, and technicians. They also use extension services provided by state governments. The question then is this: which of the alternatives of grazing reserves, ranching, and cattle colonies best approximates commercial crop farming?

    Frankly, I do not see the difference between cattle colonies, ranching, and grazing reserves except for the size of the former which, we are told, will be big enough to accommodate several cattle owners. However, as it has become clear since it was thrown up by Minister Ogbeh, beside the substance of its merit or demerit, the idea of cattle colony evokes a negative feeling, and rightly so. Why would a post-colonial enclave, which has continuously decried its colonial history and raged against internal colonization of various kinds, reopen old wounds with this unnecessary flirtation with creating cattle colonies, which Nigerians have mischievously labelled Fulani colonies? Branding is everything and labeling is a huge part of branding.

    Ranching is the global best practice in commercial cattle breeding. Minister Ogbeh says that ranching is “of an individual venture” for herdsmen and investors. But is there a good reason ranching in our peculiar condition cannot be a cooperative venture? After all, we have commercial farming as cooperative ventures. Instead of accommodating several herdsmen and their cattle in colonies, it is more productive to organize them in ranches as cooperatives.

    Miyetti-Allah’s argument against ranching is that it is technologically driven, and the Nigerian climate is unsuitable for ranching. If the latter is true, won’t the same objection apply to cattle colonies? Regarding technology, however, the federal government should deploy the resources it has promised for cattle colonies to ranching with better outcomes of healthy cattle, prosperous herdsmen and a peaceful and united nation.

     

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  • Cattle colonisation!

    Cattle colonisation!

    Outrage over federal government’s proposal to set up cattle colonies in states is not entirely unexpected. Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh who leaked the policy said it was government’s response to festering clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the country.

    Though details of the cattle colonies have remained largely cloudy, Ogbeh said 16 states have already offered lands for the purpose. The much we have been let into is that the colonies will have such social amenities as good roads, a school for nomads’ children and health facilities. It was also touted as a joint venture between the federal government and the states.

    Ogbeh must have also shocked the nation when he disclosed that President Buhari promised to give them, ‘financial help over and above the budget provisions’ to ensure the success of the programme. From all indications, the project is a fait accompli especially in the states that are said to have donated lands.

    But many other states have voiced opposition to the idea. Benue and Taraba would have nothing to do with it. States in the south are also opposed to the creation of colonies for cattle in their domain. It is not yet clear the 16 states that have been factored into the programme. My guess is that they are likely to be states in the north with large Fulani indigenous population predominantly engaged in cattle rearing.

    That may have accounted for the relative obscurity that enveloped the programme until the minister blew its lid open. That may also have been the reason why as many as 16 states have donated lands for such a federal project without the knowledge of the rest. If this conclusion is right, the programme is unlikely to encounter much problem in those states. But the rationale in federal funding of the colonies which are private business concerns will still be an issue.

    For one, the announcement came at a time the country was still reeling under the pains of senseless killings by Fulani herdsmen in parts of the country especially in Benue State. Floating such idea under the circumstance was definitely bound to ruffle sensibilities. It was definitely an act of indiscretion.

    Again, though the critical details of the so-called cattle colonies are still largely vague, some of their features have raised fears as to the real intention of the government in evolving the contraption as a veritable solution to the recurring clashes between the herders and farmers. Not unexpectedly, criticisms have come in torrents questioning the rationale for the idea.

    Matters are not remedied by the equivocation of Ogbeh on the real meaning and implications of having cattle colonies in all states of the federation. At one time, he said ranches and cattle colonies are different concepts altogether. At another, he claimed a ranch could accommodate many colonies implying that a ranch is a cluster of colonies. With this ambiguity, the feeling in many states is that the federal government will grab or blackmail states to donate hectares of land for it to build modern facilities and have Fulani herdsmen and their cattle housed there. With that, the area becomes a colony of Fulani herdsmen and their cattle.

    Thesaurus defines a colony as a settlement in a new region or a country. For Catherine Martin, colonization is the act or action of taking over colonies while colonialism is the ideology or theology advocating colonizing areas. Conceived this way, the contradiction in setting up cattle colonies especially in states the purveyors of the occupation and their trade are alien becomes more glaring. It is therefore not for nothing that some states view the project as another subterfuge to plant Fulani herdsmen across the federation.

    So the so-called cattle colonies could turn out as cattle colonization or colonialism by Fulani herdsmen. It will for instance, amount to building settlements for Fulani herders in Anambra, Bayelsa or Ekiti states. Its final outcome would manifest in acquiring hectares of land in these states for the federal government to establish the so-called colonies equipped with modern facilities in sharp contrast with the debilitating poverty of their immediate surroundings. They would have created a class of favoured settlements with modern amenities while their hosts live in squalor. Funding these amenities for inmates of the colonies in areas that have over the years had little or no federal government presence constitutes both the necessary and sufficient conditions for serious resentment and another round of crisis. It will no doubt fuel feelings of nepotism and bias for which this government has received serious bashing. This is to be expected given that within the same environment, there are sets of farmers that rely on self-help for their special types of businesses.

    The government will be hard put to justify why the herdsmen should merit preferential treatment in their private business engagements which they sell to the public at some profit. Questions will be raised as to whether we are rewarding the herdsmen for levying war on innocent citizens. Or is it the reward for the insurgency of the herdsmen that have been rated the fourth most deadly terrorist group in the world?

    Beyond this and stemming from the latter, the opposition to cattle colonies has serious justification especially in parts of the middle belt and the south of the country. The profile herdsmen have courted in the last couple of years has been that of an unfriendly and deadly neighbour. In many of the states, they have metamorphosed into an invincible killer squad instead of the stick-wielding itinerant cattlemen they were accustomed to.

    In their new and dangerous form, they are feared and dreaded by their hosts. Given this antecedent in negative profiling, it will be a grave risk allowing them a settlement/colony in states other than their own. The fear of domination and an agenda is further accentuated by the fact that Buhari is the man promoting this new policy, albeit surreptitiously. Many believe that beneath the move lies expansionism fuelled by colonization. They view the idea as another attempt to penetrate all the nooks and crannies of the country to enforce an agenda of very questionable and mundane nature.

    There are also fears that in the nearest future, the so-called colonies would become Fulani territories and they will begin to agitate for political rights. The social media has been awash with all manner of possibilities as to what the so-called colonies will turn out in the future. We can dismiss these with a wave of the hand. But if events in other parts of the country especially in the middle belt are anything to repose hope in, the fear of emirates springing up in these states in the nearest future can only be ignored at a great risk. These are some of the contradictions. Being colonies, arrangements would soon be made for polling booths and even wards depending on the population. Being a settlement of people of the same stock, they may soon begin to elect representatives to the various elective positions. There is nothing wrong with that if they were living together with the indigenous people.

    But to achieve this through the instrumentality of the exclusivity of the colonies has everything wrong with it. It reinforces all the fears on having cattle settlements or colonies in states where that culture of trade is non-existent. It reinforces the accusation of an agenda as the raison d’être for the programme. Buhari may wish to proceed with the programme in those states in the north where the Fulani people own ancestral lands with cattle farming being the predominant occupation.

    It will be counterproductive to enforce the programme in states opposed to it or states where the Fulani’s and cattle farming are not part and parcel of the indigenous population. The people in the south have no need for cattle colonies. Perhaps, the government should also come up with suitable colonies for pigs, goats, dogs and the local brand of cows reared in the south. Before then, we need to be told where the appropriation for the funding of the cattle colonies will come from.

  • 16 states ready for FG’s cattle colonies

    16 states ready for FG’s cattle colonies

    • Ogbeh sheds light on plan, blames past governors for herdsmen killings
    • Says they wasted N100bn received from Jonathan

    Sixteen of the 36 states have signified intention to be part of the cattle colonies initiative of the federal government, The Nation can now reveal.

    More are expected to join, according to Dr. Olukayode Oyedele, Special Assistant to Agriculture Minister, Audu Ogbeh. Oyedele did not name the 16 states or those in line to join the initiative.

    But Taraba, Benue and Abia states have categorically declared that they should be counted out.

    Ogbeh, who has been holding series of meetings with stakeholders on the project, defined the ‘colony’ as “a place where many owners of cattle can co-exist, be fed well, because we can make their feeds; they can get good water to drink, cows drink a lot of water and we can give them green fodder.”

    Government, according to him, will provide veterinary services for the animals and “protect the cows against rustlers.”

    “By a special design, we have to make sure that rustlers can’t cross into the ranches and steal cows and walk away,” he said. Each colony will comprise between 20 and 40 co-located ranches.

    The scheme is part of the strategy to check the incessant clashes between farmers and pastoralists whose animals often stray into cultivated farms and destroy crops.

    Such clashes have claimed hundreds of lives across the country, setting communities and communities and endangering national security.

    It was gathered that Kogi and Plateau states are among the enthusiastic supporters of the cattle colony initiative.

    Plateau already has a few ranches which may grow into colonies

    However, the support of the governors for the project is not without opposition from some communities and opinion leaders in their states.

    In Kogi State for example, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market and Institutions, Mr. Teejay Yusuf, asked Governor Yahaya Bello to tread cautiously on the matter “in the interest of coming generations.”

    Yusuf said the governor should shun the temptation of taking unilateral decisions on the scheme.

    Another member of the House of Representatives from the state, Mr.James Faleke, berated the governor for buying into the initiative without proper consultation with the people while a group called Igala Project from the Kogi East Senatorial District has commenced compiling signatures in support of a petition against the establishment of any such colony in the senatorial district.

    The group is objecting to Bello’s alleged designation of part of the district as a cattle colony, saying its position follows “the multiple acts of war and mayhem being unleashed daily, on our innocent farmers and hapless law-abiding citizens, in their villages, homes and farm lands , by rampaging Fulani herdsmen.”

    It adds: “between June 2015 and December 2017, Igala land has witnessed several incidences of killings as a result of herdsmen violence in several areas including Ebeje where eight people were killed and farms set ablaze, Agbada/Agojeju where 19 people were slaughtered, Edede – two persons were killed, six people killed in Oganenigu, three people killed in Ojapata, five people killed in Ojuwo Anawo. All these happened in Dekina Local Government Area.”

    Audu is quoted as saying: “once the colonies begin, we are also going into large scale artificial insemination to improve the breed of cattle so that the yield of milk can increase.

    “As at today, our cows deliver just about one beer bottle which is a litre of milk a day but in East Africa, cows do 15 litres of milk, and in Europe, they do averagely 50 litres of milk a day.

    “Somebody said to me in a text, very angry at this policy, that the word colony means that we are trying to use the Fulani to colonize their state, and that it reminds them of colonialism.

    “Well, we don’t really want to take anybody’s land to give anybody.”

    “We won’t come to a state, take land and give Fulani or Hausa or Itsekiri or Idoma or Tiv and say this area has been seized and given to an ethnic group. That’s not the idea but we’ll also tell the herdsmen: ‘If you are passing through a state, you can only go to the colony and stay there, feed your cattle and, when you are moving off, agro -rangers will follow you and make sure you don’t destroy anybody’s farm.’”

    And speaking to reporters in Zaria, Kaduna State yesterday on the sideline of his tour of facilities of research institutes in the university town, Ogbeh blamed state governors during the Jonathan administration for the farmers/herdsmen clashes in the country.

    He claimed that the governors received N100 billion to solve the crisis without anything to show for it.

    His words: “In 2014, President Goodluck Jonathan gave N100 billion to state governors to solve the farmers/herdsmen crisis once and for all.

    “Though, I don’t have the details, it doesn’t appear anything was done.

    “If the money went to the states and they have done nothing, what do you expect?

    “Let me ask: we have three tiers of government, why does everybody blame Buhari at the centre all the time? Why don’t we ask our state governments questions? ”

     

  • ‘Track all cattle coming into Nigeria’

    Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Malam Muhammad Bello has challenged the National Implementation Committee for the Curtailment of Cattle Rustling in Nigeria to evolve a robust mechanism to track all the cattle coming in from neighbouring countries.

    Bello gave the challenge while receiving members of the Committee led by its chairman, AIG Charles Ugomuoh who were in the FCT Administration on an advocacy visit.

    The Minister said that all such cattle could be tracked from the border thereby reducing friction often being generated by their activities in the hinterland, which can also be used for statistical purposes.

    He said, It would be a good idea for your Committee to set up a robust mechanism to track all those coming across the border even for statistical purposes.”

    Bello reiterated that majority of cattle rustling activities are being perpetuated by those coming from the neighboring countries hence the need for their actions to be nipped in the bud.

    In a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Sule, the minister urged the Implementation Committee to take advantage of technology to track them and ensure that the herders pay for such services.

    “The Implementation Committee needs to capture them by creating a data base with their names and identity because nobody can move in other countries without identity,” the Minister emphasised.

    According to him, “the policy if well harnessed will go a long way to help reduce problems associated with cattle rustling in the country and make people to continue to live in peace and prosperity.

    He called on the Committee to work in concert with existing committees in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory for greater understanding and better results.

    The Chairman of the National Implementation Committee on the Curtailment of Cattle Rustling in Nigeria, AIG Charles Ugomuoh, said that they were in FCT for advocacy visit as an enlightenment programme to curtail their menace.

    Ugomuoh stated that cattle rustling in Nigeria have come with adverse economic and security implications with negative consequences on the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    It may be recalled that the Minister recently set up similar committee consisting of 22 members on cattle grazing and rustling in the Federal Capital Territory.

  • Rail conveys 2,330 cattle to Lagos

    The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC)  transported 2,330 cattle from the North to Lagos between September and last month, its Lagos District Manager,  Jerry Oche said.

    Oche made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos.

    He said the corporation transported 450 cattle from Guzau in Zamfara and 1, 880 cattle from Nguru, Yobe to Lagos between September 1 and October 28.

    He said the newly introduced cattle coaches of the rail system had helped to reduce the influx of trailers laden with cows and other goods into Lagos, adding that the development would also help to protect the highways.

    “This new development will reduce pressure on the country’s highways; more than 2,000 cattle were moved from the north to the west without any hitch.

    “The removal of trailers from the highways has also helped to prevent accidents; we hope to collaborate with more stakeholders in cattle business and freight operators to protect our roads.

    “Railway is best way to move cattle; it is also the safest and cheapest mode of transportation for both passengers and goods,’’ he said.

    According to Oche, NRC is committed to improving services to bring back the glory of the railway system.

    He commended the Federal Government for its commitment to restoring the corporation’s freight services.

  • Lagos consumes N1.6 Billion worth of cattle daily

    Lagos consumes N1.6 Billion worth of cattle daily

    Lagos state alone consumes about 8000 cattle and small ruminants valued at N1.6 billion daily.

    It is projected that, when fully realized, NIRSAL’s efforts to create a structured market for the livestock business in the country, through a bankable standard business model, has the potential to increase the overall value of Nigeria’s livestock market to about N2 trillion.

    Bello Abdullahi Abba, Coordinator Research and Strategy of the  Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), made this disclosure in a press released he issued and signed Thursday in continuation of the recently launched project to transport cattle by rail from the north to the south which was facilitated by the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), at the second cattle train of fifteen wagons that left Nguru, Yobe state for Oko-Oba, Lagos yesterday.

    Speaking on the development, the Managing Director of NIRSAL, Mr. Aliyu Abbati Abdulhameed said the initiative is a practical demonstration of NIRSAL’s mandate to provide guarantees so that banks can be encouraged to finance impactful projects along the agric value chain.

    “I am really excited at the progress that we are making on this project which is designed to maximize the current value of the North-South livestock trade, estimated at N950 billion to about N1.8Trn per annum. NIRSAL will execute this project, first, by fixing, end-end, the entire trade livestock value chain through upgrading the performance of its 3 components comprising Breeding, Trading and Logistics then guaranteeing the flow of affordable commercial finance to identified actors and enterprises within the “fixed” value chain.

    “What Nigerians are witnessing through the livestock Rail Transport component is actually one part of the bigger picture of the commercial livestock value chain upgrade being executed by NIRSAL”.

    Ultimately, the objective  is provide cattle breeders in the north, an alternative low cost and safe rail transport linkage to markets and their trading counterparts in the south. This will also eliminate the all too frequent menace of Herdsmen and Farmer clashes across the country.

    He stated that, beyond its general economic benefits to the entire country, the flag off of the Nguru-Lagos cattle transport route will help to catalyze the revival of the North East economy after the devastation caused by the insurgency.

    The journey is estimated to last two days compared to the five to six days it normally takes to cover the distance by road.

    The project, operated by Connect Rail Services Ltd, an indigenous bulk freight and logistics company as technical partner, is part of NIRSAL’s Farm to Market scheme designed to achieve a low cost and efficient transport link between agric producers across the country.

    The scheme is projected to reduce the cost of transporting cattle from the north to the south by over 20 percent, minimize injury and death of cattle while in transit and also preserve 100% of their value so that livestock breeders can get good price for their produce at the destination markets.

    Speaking further, the MD NIRSAL stated that “The next phase will include the creation of business models and specific financing products for the Ranching and Trading components of the value chain. The strategy is to mainstream all the actors into regular and sustainable relationships with structured finance and structured markets. This will include the transportation of carcass and cut beef in refrigerated containers”.

    It will be recalled that the second cattle train follows the historic and successful movement of 500 cows from Gusau, Zamfara State to Oko Oba, Lagos on September 1st, 2016.

    The livestock had arrived its destination hours ahead of schedule in healthy condition that guaranteed good market value for the cattle breeders and therefore healthier, more affordable beef for the consumer.

    There is every indication that the latest Nguru to Lagos cattle movement will produce similar positive results.

    According to Edeme Kelikume, MD, Connect Rail Services, regular bi-weekly movement of cattle by trains carrying at least 1,000 cattle from the north to markets in the south is scheduled to begin soon.

    “Our plan is to ensure that we take this transport solution to all states in the north with functional railway services so that those who deal in cattle will enjoy the cost and associated benefits that it offers. For instance, this service reduces cost of transport by over 50%, ensures quicker access to markets and greater value for cattle upon arrival”.

    NIRSAL is also making progress in its efforts to operationalize other elements of the Farm to Market scheme such as the movement of perishable agric produce like tomatoes, dairy products and vegetables in refrigerated containers.

    The movement of cattle represents the first component of NIRSAL’s “Farm to Market” flagship programme designed to boost value and efficiencies across the agricultural value chain through a remunerative, sustainable and market-focused food production that achieves greater equity so that farmers and other agricultural producers get more reward for their efforts.

    The ultimate plan, according to Mr Abdulhameed, is to enable the movement of meat in the form of carcasses in chilled containers as is done in the developed world.

  • Cattle on FCT roads?

    Cattle on FCT roads?

    •This is a misnomer that the authorities have to address

    Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) has to redouble its efforts at apprehending herders who still graze their cattle on roads in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in contravention of the ban on such by the FCT minister, Muhammed Bello. Bello had on September 3 directed herdsmen to stop grazing their cattle on streets in the federal capital, but reports say the directive is being obeyed more in the breach. Herdsmen still graze their cattle along the roads in the FCT, including the Central Business District, sometimes causing traffic holdup. The minister who described the practice as bizarre tasked the AEPB and the FCT Task Force Team on Environment to stop it forthwith.

    The matter becomes more perplexing with the AEPB Director, Mrs. Olutoyin Olanipekun’s claim that she met with the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association as far back as June, during which the herdsmen pledged to stop grazing their livestock in the city. “The association said we should give them time to educate their members, but since then, we have not heard from them and all efforts to reach them have not been successful, but we have been seeing herdsmen grazing their livestock and we have been confiscating the animals and charging their owners to court,” she stated.

    Although, Olanipekun said her agency had confiscated seven cows and 23 sheep for grazing in the city and the owners fined by the mobile court before the animals were released, it would seem this is not enough. Otherwise, the practice should have abated. The agency would have to do more monitoring than it is presently doing. Mrs Olanipekun’s excuse that the itinerant nature of the herders makes it difficult for her team to apprehend them is untenable. “One of the challenges we are facing is that the herders are nomadic and are very mobile. When we get a signal that they are at a particular location, by the time our men would come with the truck to evacuate the animals, the herders would have moved to another location and tracing them is sometimes difficult.”

    It takes quite some time for cattle to move or be moved from one point to another on foot. Therefore, time lag cannot be a problem. With regards to the education of the herdsmen as promised by the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, that too should not take eternity for people who want to take to correction.

    Beef is consumed all over the world but that does not give the cattle farmers the right to wander about with their cattle. Indeed, ours must be one of the few countries where cattle are transported by itinerant herders, destroying farmlands and often leading to clashes between the herdsmen and their host communities.

    Mercifully, things are looking up for the herdsmen with the introduction by the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) of rail movement of cattle from the north to the southern part of the country early this month. We want to see more of this. It is cost-effective and even safer for both the cattle and the herdsmen. More cattle owners should key into the scheme.

    Ultimately, it is in the best interest of the cattle owners to set up ranches across the country where the cattle would be moved to upon arrival at their stations by rail. Cattle should not be wandering about on roads, especially in our federal capital. Those who conceived the idea of moving the capital from Lagos to Abuja must be wondering what has happened to our national pride.