The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Grazing

  • N940m for grazing reserves?

    •Federal Government should perish the thought

    Although the budget has been passed, with the N940million that the Federal Government earmarked for the development of grazing reserves for herdsmen in the country, it is doubtful if the reserves will ever see the light of day, given the resistance to the idea by a large section of the country. Mercifully, land ownership in the country is vested in state governments; and if feelers from across the country are anything to go by, then not many states will graciously release the space that the Federal Government envisaged would be released for the reserves.

    The latest such opposition has come from Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, who has threatened to get a bill criminalising the movement of cattle in the state to the state assembly. The governor made this known during a visit to Oke-Ako in Ikole Local Government Area of the state, to commiserate with them over the killing of two residents of the community by herdsmen.

    “I have come here to commiserate with the people of Oke-Ako over the murder of two of our people by these evil Fulani herdsmen. I am also here to assure that this will be the last time your community will be invaded by Fulani herdsmen under whatever guise. I have directed that cattle rearing and grazing should stop in Ekiti State and those interested in cattle farming should henceforth do so in their own cattle ranch”.

    An enraged Fayose added, “No more movement of cattle from one location to another in the state and any cattle seen anywhere in Ekiti State apart from the ranch created for them by their owners will be confiscated by the government and their owners will be prosecuted. A bill to this effect will be sent to House of Assembly for passage into law to criminalise cattle owners whose cattle are found moving from one location to the other in the state’.

    Draconian as this might seem, Governor Fayose spoke the minds of millions of Nigerians who are opposed to the idea of grazing reserves. The herdsmen have not helped matters the way they have been going about their business, disrupting other people’s businesses in the process, raping and killing along the line. To add salt to injury, the umbrella body of the herdsmen, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, has been speaking in an annoying manner, saying for instance, that they are protected under the law to move freely in any part of the country.

    No one is contesting that with them. But they should also understand that while the constitution guarantees them free movement; it does not give them the liberty to destroy other people’s sources of livelihood or displace them from their ancestral lands. In other words, where their own freedom stops; others’ begins. Put more succinctly, there is land sovereignty.

    While Governor Fayose’s outburst is understandable, we think there should be a timeline to put an end to the idea of cattle roaming the streets or the farms. Indeed, this has become anachronistic. The herdsmen must be told in unambiguous terms that they cannot have their way in states where the people say they do not want cattle reared or where they are averse to the idea of grazing reserves. They surely are not in a position to dictate to other Nigerians what to do with their land. They have to learn to appreciate their local environment.

    Cattle-rearing is private business; so, the herdsmen should go for ranches where the people only sanction such. That is the way it is all over the civilised world. As a matter of fact, the cattle reared in ranches look far healthier than those made to travel kilometres before getting to their destinations. We understand there are plans by some individuals to produce feeds for the cows. This is a good idea.

    So, immediate ban may not be the best way to solve the problem; but it is the ultimate way to go. We also urge the Federal Government to exercise caution in throwing public funds into private business; it is a dangerous precedence.

  • Neither grazing reserves nor ranches: let history be our guide

     It is a lie to claim arrogantly that government has a monopoly of violence and one would have thought that Boko Haram has proved that beyond all doubt.

    “Nobody can stop the government from acquiring land anywhere. Government is government. If anybody thinks that he is violent, government has a monopoly of violence”. –Senator Abdullahi Adamu –Chairman, Senate/House Joint Public Hearing Committee. 

    History, it has been said, repeats itself as tragedy.  This we must try to avoid as Nigerians but since successive Nigerian governments had only been toying with the idea of having a genuine, and honest, national conference where we would tell ourselves the truth, and nothing but the truth, I think it behoves concerned individuals to try their humble best to help the country out of this conundrum. Resolving the naughty issue of the herdsmen is one issue on which we must allow history to guide us lest we further complicate our problems. Some of these truths have been coming out at the ongoing Joint National Assembly Public Hearing where the representatives from Benue and Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Edward Ujege, President General of Mdzough U Tiv and Dr Paddy Njoku , respectively, as well as that  of Southern  Zaria,  vehemently objected to the Grazing Reserve Bill. Beyond the public hearing, at least two governors from the Southwest have equally voiced their opposition. These objections are the result of the sad experiences Fulani herdsmen had inflicted on people in various parts of the country, the most recent being the Enugu killing of about 40 persons and the Agatu blood feast which accounted for about 500 deaths but which Sale Bayari, Secretary-General of  Gan Allah Fulani Development Association (GAFDAN),  rhapsodised as the consequence of the Fulani’s unforgiving spirit – if they kill 10, we kill 100 in return, he enthused in Sunday Punch  interview. All the opposition is asking for, is simply that whoever armed these herdsmen should please disarm them.

    Given the above circumstances, the time has come for the government to read the riot act to these murderous herdsmen and their employers who operate behind the mask. It is a lie to claim arrogantly that government has a monopoly of violence and one would have thought that Boko Haram has proved that beyond all doubt.  Let me, therefore, suggest two ways in which the big men who own the businesses, and are arming these dangerous herdsmen can, in the interim, do their business unmolested in spite of the massive objections from the other geo-political zones. First, they should blow their cover and come out into the open. They should then submit a list of their herdsmen to government, disarm them completely and promptly enter into an agreement with the various governments, affirming their vicarious liability for any of their employers’ transgressions. Secondly, and  for the  long term,  given  the  business’s contribution  to the country’s growth and development , the business owners  should look to the north for  both  their grazing reserves  and ranches. The north should be turned, essentially, to the country’s grazing zone. As to whether constraints, science and countries like Israel have proved copiously that grass can luxuriate anywhere under the sun.  And to effectively do this, they should approach either their banks for long term loans or their state governments for partnership. They should then exploit the entire value chain by establishing meat processing companies with incredible, and foreseeable possibility of a quantum economic leap. Not only would their animals be more productive and fetch more money,  massive employment opportunities will open up for all Nigerians and  many of our currently  under utilised airports doting the entire country could be reconfigured for  cargo  haulage as the entire West African sub region could readily become their market.  Nor would there be a shortage of buyers coming from the South to buy cows, as well as processed meat just like they come to the north today, to buy yams, tomatoes etc.

    I assure any doubting Thomas that these are things I have thought over very well. Sometime in the 80s, I seriously considered exporting raw foodstuffs abroad, especially to both the U.S and the U.K where my children were then studying. Once I did the feasibility study, the very first practical step I undertook was to go to Kuta in Niger State, where my inquiries had shown was my best source for yam. Rather than go in a car, the gentleman who accompanied me, Mr Omole, and I went by public transport to properly understand what I was getting into. After discussions with some  yam  sellers right in the market and  speaking  to one or two farmers introduced to me, we bought yams which my partner then brought to a Medoya at  Mile 12, Lagos, with whom I had agreed to help sell on commission basis. At Kuta, I noticed that unlike in the south, farmers do not have to make big heaps to harvest huge yams. I narrated this personal story to show that buyers from the south will continue to come up north to buy cows which will no longer have to be taken, months, through hundreds of kilometres from the north.

    There is, however, another very fundamental reason which makes one believe that as a united country, under God, desirous of peace, and disavowing of all these unnecessary bloodletting, we should allow history to guide us in these very dangerous times. That brings me to the following Whats app message that has been trending for some time now. Titled: “WHY ANY GRAZING BILL MUST BE STOPPED”, the story is told of how King Yunfa, the Hausa Sarkin in Gobir (now called Sokoto) hosted a Fulani immigrant called Usman Dan Fodiyo and his group in February 1804.  As a result of that act of hospitality, and the subsequent killing of Yunfa in 1808 by the immigrants, the entire Hausa kingdom has become lost, a booty to the Fulanis which has since become the Sokoto Caliphate; a venture that happened simply because the Fulanis were given access to grazing land as a result of the hospitality of their hosts (though they claimed to have been fighting syncretism -additions mine.) Nor did the Fulanis stop there. In Ilorin, they killed Afonja who had colluded with them and, in his place, installed the Alimis as kings over a predominantly Yoruba kingdom till today.  And had the Yoruba not defeated them in Osogbo in 1840, there would most probably be Fulani emirs all over Yoruba land today. Continued the story:  It is the descendants of these same Fulanis who are now angling for grazing reserves and a corridor through the entire federation. Such grazing reserves, if ever allowed, will see history repeat itself as tragedy because Fulani settlements,vlater,  communities and, finally local government areas with their own  elected officials will spring up all over Nigeria”. Concluding, the author wrote: “The grazing bill is a subtle continuation of the 1804 Fulani jihad by today’s  fully-armed, and well- protected, Fulani herdsmen with the age-old agenda to overrun and Islamise Nigeria. The grazing bill is not an attempt to solve the problem, it’s a subterfuge to progress the agenda. It is an age-old political strategy: create a problem, come up with a “solution” that advances the cause, and then give it a legal backing to make it look like a win-win situation”. Those interested in this story should Google WIKIPEDIA -the free encyclopedia for more information.

    All these may be hogwash, but my Yoruba people have a saying to the effect that: ina esunsun ki jo ni le e meji, meaning, you don’t make the same mistake twice. In reaction to the Whats app  story, I have heard people say it is an attempt to dip the Quran in the Atlantic Ocean as the revered Alhaji Ahmadu Bello was rumoured to have once promised. It was further argued that whether  it is a grazing reserve or a ranch, Fulani settlements would emerge everywhere in the country and given the Hausa/Fulani culture to always have a radio transistor on them, somebody, somewhere would one day just give the command or a fatwa to over run, and that would be all.

    If, therefore, there is no such ulterior motive behind the quest for a grazing bill, which, ab initio, presumes that the federal government immorally wants to fund some peoples’ private business, I would like to repeat that the suggestions earlier made in this article should prove reasonable and viable; indeed, it should be a silver bullet to the herdsman’s palaver.

  • NASS restates opposition to grazing reserves

    NASS restates opposition to grazing reserves

    The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, says the National Assembly will not support the creation of grazing reserves anywhere in the country.

    Addressing newsmen on Sunday after a meeting of the South East governors and stakeholders in Enugu, Ekweremadu said that there was no bill on the creation of grazing reserves before the National Assembly.

    He, therefore, said that the purported bill for the creation of grazing reserves was a “hoax’’, adding that the press should strive to stop such rumours.

    “There is no such proposal or bill on the creation of grazing reserves either in the Senate or House of Representatives.

    “Nobody is considering it; not even at the executive level. I do not think they are considering it but we will not support it even if it has been considered,” he said.

    Ekweremadu said that the meeting was convened in reaction to the attack on the people of Uzo Uwani by suspected herdsmen.

    He said that the meeting reviewed all that happened since then and thanked all stakeholders who had shown sympathy to victims of the attack.

    On the absence of Imo and Anambra governors, Ekweremadu said: “The South East governors proposed to meet today to review these matters but regrettably, the message did not get to Imo and Anambra governors.

    “So you can see mainly the PDP governors are here. So, they had to review the matter and more importantly, ensure that every governor will be in attendance in the next meeting.

    “The meeting is rescheduled within the week where all the governors are expected to be in attendance,” he said.

    Ekweremadu said that the meeting looked at a more regional approach to curbing the menace of the herdsmen so as to ensure that it did not happen again.

    “We are looking at a concrete and more coordinated approach on how to protect our people from this carnage,” he said.

    Also speaking, Gov. Dave Umahi of Ebonyi said that there was no disunity among governors in the South East zone.

    Umahi said that the governors would take a cursory look at the federal budget, when signed into law, so as to ensure that the zone got what was due to it.

    He said that the governors would ensure the rehabilitation of federal roads in the zone if such arrangements were captured in the budget.

    ““I am sure the Federal Government’s budget is not yet signed. So when it is signed, it will be the duty of all zones to start agitating for attention,” Umahi said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gov. Umahi, Gov Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia attended the meeting.

     

  • Grazing reserves: Lasting solution or more problems?

    That activities of Fulani cattlemen have become a potential time-bomb across the country is no longer news, Taiwo Alimi examines the cases for and against grazing reserves as solution.

    SOME people call them ‘merchants of death’ and ‘bloodthirsty cattlemen’, but sitting face to face with Ibrahima Bello(27) and Boubacar Jalloh a.k.a Dogo at the popular Kara Livestock Market along Lagos-Ibadan expressway, this reporter did not see or feel any immediate danger.
    They are both bony-slim and dark, though; Dogo is taller, reaching up to 6.6feet. He, apparently, got his nickname due to his stature, as Dogo is a Hausa name reserved for extremely tall persons.
    At a first glance, it is impossible to classify these otherwise gentle-looking Fulani herdsmen, locally called Mbororo’en, as everything but bloodthirsty.
    They both wear their hair low, and covered with wide hand-woven hats, to keep off the scorching sun. Dogo’s skin is shining dark and he has shaved off all traces of hair on his chin and mouth.
    Dogo (37), is the leader of a five-man team and though, he has been through four states and dozens of localities in the western region of Nigeria, he has not picked up any local dialect or the national language, English, which are dominantly spoken by indigenes.
    The Fulani herdsmen are clad in colourful but beaten trousers, which stop at the knee. Their tops, resemble a short version of traditional gown, popularly called ‘Dandogo’ and ‘Agbada’ by the Hausas and Yorubas respectively in Nigeria.
    Crouching in a sitting position, behind them, 47 cows and bulls graze in different positions. While some are on their fours, some stoop to feed on dry grasses while others move around, Dogo and Bello seemed at peace with themselves and their environment.
    A second and careful scrutiny, however revealed more. Their ‘staff of office’ lay half on their laps and ground. It is a long and smooth, strong pole with a rounded-shape head that is used to direct the cattle and pass instruction to them. It can also be a lethal weapon, when the need arises, as the head is capable of breaking the toughest object.
    Attached to the midriff of Dogo is a conspicuous leather belt that also serves to hold up his trousers. Actually, it is a pouch for a dagger.
    Bello also wears a shorter version of the belt on his left arm, housing a shorter and slimmer dagger.
    Dogo and Bello represent millions of nomadic Fulani Herdsmen that have become terror to farmers from the west of the country; Ondo to Edo states, the eastern to southern parts of the country; Enugu to Port Harcourt, the mid-belt; Benue to Nasarawa states and northern part; Kano to Adamawa.
    Eyewitnesses Account
    Of course, people of Nimbo in Uzor-Uwani Local Government of Enugu State will not forget Fulani herdsmen in a long while. Tuesday, 26th of April, would remain indelible in their minds, as Mbororo’en stole in, like death, at dawn. Famous for their agricultural and hunting expedition, the sleeping community was unprepared for the friends turned foes that invaded their sleep that early morning.
    Emeka (surname withheld) was lucky to be alive to tell his story. He survived the orgy of destruction by whiskers. ‘I heard the booming of guns first. Been a light sleeper, I only had one opportunity to look through the window before ducking through the back door and escape into the bush.’
    He returned five hours later to fully understand the carnage that had spread through the village. “I counted five corpses and many burnt houses.
    Another indigene, Ugochukwu (surname withheld) corroborated Emeka’s account, though, with a slight edge. “The Fulani herdsmen numbering around 50 took us unawares at around 3am, and the casualty would have been more if not for the bravery of our youths who, on sensing the impending danger, quickly rang the town bell, but unknown to them the Fulanis had laid ambush. The men on hearing the bell started coming out to the village square to know what was going on and that was when the herdsmen started shooting sporadically and we had to scamper for safety.”
    He said that went on until 6.30 am, when the men came out from their hiding places, assembled to arm themselves, and pursue the Fulanis who ran away through a neigbouring Kogi village.
    “When headcount was later taken, six villagers lay dead. There remains were deposited at the Bishop Shanahan Mortuary at Nsukka. Two houses, a car, and some motorcycles were also set ablaze,” Ugochukwu added on the conflicting casualty figures.
    Port Harcourt based Soibi Max-Alalibo also live to tell his encounter with Fulani herdsmen in the Garden City.
    “The other day, I almost had a faceoff with these herdsmen at Eagle Island road, behind the Rivers State University of Science and Technology. They were off-loading cows from a trailer on a major road unmindful of the nuisance they constitute. Just one word on why they should be courteous, and they almost pounced on me. They threatened to ‘butcher’ me like a cow”
    As he was alone, Alalibo smartly swallowed his pride and today can share this tale. “It would have cost me my life if I had argued with them, as they had brought out daggers and stick to attack me”
    The Agatu people of Benue state, also known for their dexterity in farming, staged a protest at the Federal Capital City Abuja few weeks ago to let the whole world know about the fatal sting of Fulani herdsmen in their community.
    Reports from the area have it that hundreds of persons have lost their lives following series of attacks by Fulani herdsmen. Villages including Okokolo, Akwu, Ocholonya, Adagbo, Ugboku and Aila were reportedly razed and many killed.
    According to Adoka Adaji, secretary of Opiatoha K’Idoma, a socio-cultural organisation of Idoma sons and daughters, “Over 300 Agatu people have been killed and maimed in one week of attack in the hands of Fulani herdsmen. There is no concerted effort by the state government to abate the attack, killings, and destruction. On the other hand, there are no identifiable camps to cater for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), which include mostly women and children; we call on the Federal Government to establish a full military base in Agatu, otherwise the area will soon become history.”
    The reality is that the menace of Fulani herdsmen is real. In-fact it has become a routine exercise in many farming settlements in the northern parts of Nigeria, so says former Senate President David Mark, who hails from Benue State.
    “What we see happening in Agatu today can be likened to happenings in the North-East and we call for urgent action by the Federal Government to put a stop to the senseless carnage ravaging Agatu. I also urge Benue and Nasarawa state governments to close rank and take steps to check the carnage.”
    Nasarawa, Taraba, Plateau, Katsina, Kano
    For ages, farmers in Taraba, Nasarawa have had to sleep with one eye owing to the incessant clashes between them and Mbororo’en.
    Last September, ten people were reported killed, while three others were missing in a clash between Fulani herdsmen and Tiv farmers at Serking Gudu village in Ibbi local government of Taraba State.
    The conflict was fuelled by the mysterious death of a Fulani man that was found in the bush between Serking Gudu and Dooshima villages of Ibbi LG.
    According to the chairman Ibbi local government Mkavga Orhembaga, it soon escalated to full blown war between the host community, Tiv and the renters, who had settled in Tiv land since the turn of the century.
    “In the afternoon when people were in their farms, the Fulanis went after the Tiv people in their farms, killing eight of them. Another person suspected to be a teacher who came from Plateau to teach in one of the primary schools within the village was also killed by the Fulani,” Mkavga said.
    Taraba indigene, Aliyu Usman was born and bred in Barkin Ladi, Plateau State. He relocated to Lagos in 2010, when tribal wars and clashes between his people and Fulani herders became a daily occurrence.
    Usman, who now acts as intermediary between Fulani cow owners and buyers at the Ogun State Cow Market, said Fulani herdsmen and farmers had been involved in bloodbath clashes for many years over grazing lands in Plateau, Taraba, Benue, and Nasarawa, since he was a kid.
    “These clashes have caused untold destruction of farmlands, loss of property worth millions of naira and sadly led to death of many Nigerians, even innocent people,” recalled the 36 year old who ran away from home when unknown gunmen killed his father in his farm six years ago.
    Usman gave further insight into these clashes. “As a kid I know that in most villages of the six council areas of Plateau North senatorial district including Barkin Ladi, Riyom, Jos North, Jos East, Bassa, and Jos South, Fulanis are like our neighbours and when they originally came they were peaceful. It was when they started laying claim to some grazing areas, and insisting on setting boundaries that our elders began to kick against it. That led to face off between them and the Beroms (locals of Barkin Ladi) accusing the herders of bringing their cattle to graze on their inherited farmland, thereby destroying the crops, the herders on their part have accused the Beroms of stealing and selling off their cattle.”
    Accusation and counter accusation, Usman lamented usually lead to disagreement, distrust, wanton destruction, and killings.
    From Benue to Taraba, Nasarawa to Plateau, Katsina to Kano and of recent Oyo to ondo, Edo to Rivers, and Enugu to Abia state, the crises have near-similar birth and undercurrent.
    An average Fulani Herder
    The reporter’s obligation to hear all sides of a story led this reporter to Kara Livestock Market, where Jalloh, Bello, and Usman operate. How the Mbororo’ens kept their cool in the midst of public hullabaloo and media backlash, all against them and their folks, was a mystery until Usman, my guide and interpreter explained to me. “Fulani herdsmen don’t understand any other language other than their own; Fulfulde and Arabic. Some of them understand a little Hausa. They do not speak English or the local dialects. They hardly listen to radio, the voice they are familiar with is that of their cattle, and they hardly relate with people outside their lineage.”
    Usman has been doing business with for three years and that made them to loosen up and react to indirect questions from the Nation’s reporter.
    Cattle as epicenter of Fulani being
    Fulani people places premium attention on seniority, rank and class, hence Jalloh did most of the talking while the younger assistant, Bello exhibited a dumb emotion. It was as if he was not there.
    “We are a proud people, started Jalloh without funfair. He kept his face low as if he was not accustomed to meeting strangers. “We are Muslims and proud of our heritage as a keeper and tender of cattle. That is our heritage and we are proud of it.”
    That Fulanis share special ties with cattle, which cannot be taken too lightly. “It is the center of our being,” explained Jalloh. “My grandfather told me that the first Fulani man emerged from a river with a cow. The cow was his only companion until he founded the first Fulani settlement and started rearing a family.”
    He stressed that the number of their cattle determines wealthy people and women gravitate towards suitors with many heads of cows and bulls. “During wedding ceremony, bride price is only acceptable in cattle and our young men prefer to marry into families with hoard of cattle.”
    Even, young brides are not exempted from this cattle mania. “A bride is expected to bring cattle with her to the marriage for her to gain respect of the community and love of her husband.”
    Jalloh added that the best legacies a Fulani father can leave to his son are cows and bulls. “I started keeping livestock at age 5, and I’m training my sons to take over from me. Fulani don’t joke with their cattle”
    So, is the life of a cow more important than that of a man?
    Jalloh cast a quick glance at me before answering. “We are law abiding people. We like to live in peace, but people look down on us. They think we do not know what we are doing. They want to trample on us.” Jalloh was done with talking. After these words, he did not utter another word neither did he react to further questions.
    Usman informed that an average Fulani herdsman behaves very much like Jalloh and Bello. “He is reserved to a point of taciturn.” He portrays the ideal Fulani as one who has stoic sobriety, reserve, and strong emotional ties to cattle.
    His carriage conveys a proud reserve, almost a disdain toward non-Fulani. It is said that no one knows what a Fulani is thinking. The true Fulani is physically as well as psychologically distant from other people, especially non-Fulani. Moreover, he is discouraged from displaying strong emotions. His demeanor is taciturn, loathing the boisterousness of others. Wealth is not to be vulgarly displayed but carefully and quietly tended.
    The harsh reality is that nomadic Fulanis are tough nuts to crack. They are raised to know no fear and, to fend for themselves from a tender age. They also learn to live under harsh weather conditions while tending to their wares. While undergoing training, young nomads are told folklores of brave herdsmen and their conquests under very ruthless conditions, against wild animals and wicked rulers.
    Adolescent nomads take part in games that will harden them. The most prominent is one in which young nomads take turns beating each other across the chest with their walking sticks. No sign of pain or discomfort must be shown. Although adolescents have died in this ceremony, young men are eager to participate and display their scars with pride throughout their lives.
    Cattle Rustlers
    For Alhaji Lukmon Mafindi, chairman of Miyetti Allah in Taraba, rustlers are the biggest treat to herdsmen and it accounts for their migration to safer pasturing grounds. “You can’t take away somebody’s livelihood completely and you expect the person to keep quiet and calm. We have been losing cattle to rustlers across five local government areas of Wukari, Bali, Takum, Donga and Gassol of in the Northern part of the country. We made several complaints to security agencies and the government but nothing has been done, so, we had no choice but to cattle to safe places.”
    He noted that that partly accounts for their uncompromising and stiff nature.
    The Encyclopedia Africa described Nomadic Fulani as proud Muslim people who love to dominate others.
    Needless to add, Fulani herdsmen will attempt to dominate it environ if given the opportunity. They like to see themselves as the wisest and the best without equal.
    Grazing reserves to the rescue
    Before he zipped up, Jalloh had made it clear that grazing reserves would give them more comfort than to move their livestock all year round. “We used to have grazing reserves when I was growing up. It is people that don’t like us and government that took them from us”
    Luckily, as a permanent solution, the Nigeria government has come up with the idea of building ranches for herdsmen across the country. It plans to grass over 50,000 hectares of land across the northern belt in the next six months.
    To buttress Jalloh’s claim, Muhammad Rimindako, President of Billital Maroobe Pastoralists Association (BILMPAN) claimed that grazing reserves are not new to Fulani people. “One of the most prominent cattle ranch in Taraba state is Gwakwe Cattle Ranch, it is located in Donga local government area of Taraba state. Those places can be revived easily by the federal government”
    Rimindako explained that the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) under current Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari, facilitated the creation of two grazing reserves called Panyabo in Falgore and Mekiya in Gabasawa local government, both in Kano State. Almost all the grazing reserves are no more. They have become farmlands. As a result, unemployment bites hard on our youth. For instance, Rahama Roundabout to Tudun Wada (on the way from Kano to Tudun Wada local government area of the state) used to have grazing lands on all sides. Today, that has changed,” he lamented.
    According to a study titled ‘Fulani Herding System’ by Prof. Ismail Iro, “more than half of the Fulani in the study area do not plan to relocate. Ninety-eight percent of the respondents say they will remain in their current places if their livestock needs can be met.”
    Haruna Boro Hussaini, a cattle owner in Plateau State said local politics and ethnic pressure often force Fulani herdsmen to migrate.
    “There is a conspiracy to chase us out of Plateau, from Makera to Farin Lamba, where we used to live; now you will not find a Fulani man there. From Kasa to Foron, it is the same thing but we cannot leave Plateau State because our grandparents, parents and our children were born here. So, I think it is better to learn to live together instead of conspiring to chase us out because we are not going anywhere.”
    He added that grazing reserves would be a welcome idea for all Fulani people. “There should be ranches where cattle could graze without hindrance. The idea of Fulani herders moving their flock across farmlands, destroying crops will pitch them head to head with farmers is not what we want, so if areas of grazing are created it would put an end to a lot of crisis. This will also reduce accusations of cattle rustling thereby allowing peace to reign in the communities and the country at large.”
    Stakeholders in west of Nigeria, Oyo state, however, received the idea of grazing reserves with mixed feelings. While farmers are skeptical about the idea on the strength that vacant or free land is hard to come by due to expanding farming by locals as well as rising cost of land across the state that could spur owners to hold on to their property, herdsmen welcome the idea wholeheartedly.
    Head of Fulani herdsmen in the state, Miyetti Allah, said building of ranches will end the perennial conflicts between herdsmen and farmers.
    “We like the idea. If other parties agree to have it, we also support it because it will bring a permanent solution to the clashes between farmers and us. The crises are even too much for us now. If the idea succeeds, we shall be more than happy.”
    But, a traditional ruler, the Onikoyi of Ikoyi-Ile, Oba Ajayi Abdulyekin, doubted the practicality of the idea. He said the idea is unlikely to work because farmers are not willing to release their land for such purpose.
    He said: “I have told farmers about it but they rejected the idea. They said they were not ready to surrender their land to build ranches for Fulani herdsmen. So, I think we are yet to come up with a solution.”
    Similarly, the Chairman of Farmers Association in Oyo State, Ayoola Ajibesin, expressed doubts about getting land to use for ranches. “Government is asking citizens to go back to farming; and people are doing so. There is no vacant land that again. Only local governments can give land for such purpose but I doubt if they will be willing to do so.”
    But the Oyo State Government is upbeat about the idea.
    Explaining how the idea will work, the Permanent Secretary, Oyo State Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, Adewale Atilola, said it is a simple idea but which requires following the process painstakingly to ensure it is a win-win situation for herdsmen, farmers, land owners and each community.
    “We are ready to support it so long it will curb incessant clashes between herdsmen and farmers. It is a better idea that will lessen our burden. However, we need to educate our people on the importance of ranches. Otherwise, they will react violently. Funding should be on 50, 30, 20 per cent ratio among federal, state and local governments respectively. The state government has some large expanse of land set aside for grazing reserve over 20 years ago; stressing that government could consider converting part of that land to ranches.”
    “There is one in Igangan in Ibarapa North Local Government which is 5,400 hectares wide. There is another one in Iwajowa Local Government totaling 8,040 hectares,” he added.
    Re-orientation
    Anthropologist and social commentator, Bayo Ogunbiyi is of the opinion that this is where national re-orientation and education should come in. “Most of the crisis we have in this country is fueled by social distrust, ethnic jingoism and lack of national unity. “ My point is that we do not think as Nigerians. We think first as an Igbo, a Yoruba, and Fulani. We distrust ourselves and that is the reason why after living together for ages, we still do not feel anything for ourselves. I do not see any reason why a Fulani man cannot owe lands in Yoruba land and vice versa for a Yoruba in the North. I think the government must work on that.”
    He added that education is also key, in order to teach host and renters that mutual understanding and social integration will keep us together than isolation and mistrust. “That is why whenever we are in a crisis; people sided with their kinsmen without first understanding the issue. We must change that mentality for us to remain as one Nigeria,” Ogunbiyi added.
    •Additional report from Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

  • Ajimobi: no free land for grazing

    Ajimobi: no free land for grazing

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi yesterday criticised the proposed creation of grazing zones across the country as ill-advised.

    He warned that the proposal is against the spirit of the land use act and the overriding public interest.

    The governor spoke on the raging controversy trailing the alleged sponsorship of a bill at the National Assembly for the creation of grazing zones for cattle across the country as a panacea to the perennial clash between trespassing herdsmen and farm owners.

    It was at the launch of the ‘Agric Oyo,’ the Oyo State agriculture initiative, at Paago, via Iseyin, in Oke Ogun zone.

    At the event were investors, outgrowers, beneficiaries, institutional partners, outtakers, traditional rulers and top officials of the state.

    The governor said: “This is the time to call a spade a spade. Those clamouring for creation of grazing zones across the country should have a rethink. It is against the Land Use Act; it is against the law of natural justice to seize people’s land to cater for someone’s cattles.

    “Grazing zones could be created for those who are traditional cattle rearers in their areas. I’m not against that. But, you cannot come here and tell me you want to occupy our land for grazing zones. The land exists in our respective states and as such the right owners should decide what to do with them.

    “Anybody outside this zone willing to rear cattle here will need to approach the state to buy the land and we offer what is available with rules. There is no free land for grazing zones. We need to take this firm position. It won’t happen.”

    On the new agriculture initiative, the governor was upbeat that it would create one million direct jobs across the agric value chain thereby taking many unemployed youths off the streets.

    Ajimobi was confident that the state would become the food basket of the South in the short run when the programme began in full swing, with the ultimate ambition of feeding the country.

    The governor, who said that the initiative was aimed at diversifying the state’s economy, assured the people that the programme would add value to the lives of citizens across different sectors.

    He said: “I am elated that the agricultural initiative has attracted these important dignitaries in the Agric business world and as well as a vast majority of our youths as beneficiaries of the scheme.

    “This project will reduce over-dependence on oil, create wealth, alleviate poverty, encourage productivity, create jobs and bring about the overall socio-economic uplift of Oyo State.”

    “Farming is very profitable and we will do everything possible to make it attractive in Oyo State to diversify our economy.”

    The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi and the Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba Abdul-Ganiyu Adekunle Salawudeen, in their separate remarks, praisded Ajimobi for the initiative, which they said was unprecedented since the days of the late sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

     

     

  • Lagos trains cattle rearers on zero grazing technology

    Lagos trains cattle rearers on zero grazing technology

    To arrest herdsmen and farmers rift, the Lagos State government on Saturday held a training on zero grazing technology for cattle rearers.

    At the workshop held at the state secretariat in Alausa, Ikeja, Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs Mr Muslim Folami said its objective was to foster peaceful co-existence between livestock and crop farmers and encourage food production.

    He said: “We want to establish and sustain cordial relationship among the cattle rearers and the crop farmers, as well as, ensure that food security status of the state is improved in peaceful and rancour free communities.

    “You will recall that in recent times, there have been incessant conflicts among the cattle herdsmen and the famers due to the encroachment on farms by the cattle. The vagaries of weather have led to shortage of pastures and grasses to the herds, especially in the northern parts of the country, which may be one of the reasons for the southward movement of the herdsmen in the country – Lagos State inclusive.

    “This is supported by increase in number of reported cases of indiscriminate grazing by the herdsmen in the state in recent time. Indiscriminate grazing means cattle are being fed on free range which usually leads to the destruction of crops which usually leads to farmers-pastoralists conflicts. Thus, farmers-pastoralists conflicts are becoming rampant in many parts of the country with attendant loss of lives and properties.”

  • Grazing Reserve Commission Bill not before us, says Senate

    Grazing Reserve Commission Bill not before us, says Senate

    Senate Committee on Rules and Business Chairman Senator Babajide Omoworare yesterday said no National Grazing Reserve Commission Bill is pending before the Senate.

    Senate spokesman Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe drew the attention of the upper chamber to the information making the rounds that the Bill had passed second reading.

    Omoworare, in a statement tagged “Official statement by the Chairman, Committee on Rules and Business”, said: “Several distinguished Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria have been inundated with the request by members of the public concerning the pendency of a National Grazing Bill in the Senate.

    “This is to clarify that no such Bill has been presented by the Executive arm of Government and none has so far been filed by any Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the 8th Senate.

    ‘For the avoidance of doubt, a “National Grazing Reserve Establishment and Development Commission Bill’ (SB. 60) was presented by Senator Zainab Kure (Niger Central) during the 7th Senate (2011 – 2015) which has now expired by the operations of law on the 6th June 2015 in furtherance of Section 64(1) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.”

    Abaribe, at plenary yesterday, told his colleagues that he was bombarded with phone calls and text messages at the weekend by his constituents over the bill.

    Abaribe said, “Mr. President, I sought your leave and you gave me permission. This personal explanation has to do with several phone calls I received. If I have not gotten calls, I got more than 1,000 calls over the weekend.

    “This has to do with something that is not before the Senate; a phantom thing that is not before the Senate. Something called the Grazing Reserve Commission Bill.

    “Many people are calling me. Some people are sending me text messages to the extent that when I explained to some of my constituents who called me that there was no such Bill in the Senate, they turned round and said that the only reason you are saying so is that you never go to the Senate, you must be absentee-member.

    “When I asked where is this information coming from, they said the information is coming from the social media.

    “Mr. President, the last time a grazing reserve commission bill came to this Senate was in the 7th Senate and was proposed by Senator Zainab Kure, (wife of a former Niger State governor)  who is no longer in the Senate.

    “I have taken time to ask the clerk and every other person to say, where is this bill that has passed second reading?

    “So I would like the chairman of Committee on Rules and Business to tell this Distinguished Senate whether he passed the bill in our absence when we were not all sitting here and it went through second reading before it got here. That is all I have to say over this, Mr. President.”

    Senate President Bukola Saraki told Abaribe that his information was noted. Omoworare later issued the statement denying the existence of the bill.

     

  • IPOB slams lawmakers for allowing Grazing Bill

    The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has berated the Southeast and Southsouth lawmakers in the National Assembly for allowing the Grazing Reserves Bill to pass the second reading at the Senate and the House of Representatives.

    A statement in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, by its Director of Media and Publicity, Emma Powerful, said the National Assembly members from  zones  did not know what they were doing by their action.

    The statement reads: “The national assembly members from the two zones allowing the grazing bill to pass second reading shows that our people in the national assembly were used by their fellow members and they

    were just stooge and they are there for their personal interest and not for their people.

    “We of the IPOB discovered that they have been bought over by their Hausa-Fulani counter parts in the Senate and House of Representatives in Abuja to the detriment of their people who they are representing.

    IPOB is warning them that this is a systematic way of bringing the invaders in our land and they are coming to Islamise us (we children of Chukwu Okike Abiama) God Almighty.

    “We are warning the Southsouth and Southeast, governors to thread with caution because we don’t have places to use as Fulani ranch and any governor who issues a place will bear the consequences and

    posterity will never forgive those who sabotaged his or her people.

    “More so, the highest producers of cows grazing and ranch in the world is Argentina followed by Australia, they have not been ravaging and

    destroying farmland or causing problems with the people, let the northern governors allocate enough land in their state to them because we have no land for cow rearing in Biafra.”

  • The matter of grazing reserves

    The Federal Government is contemplating the establishment of grazing reserves and stock routes across the country to check the incessant bloody clashes between nomadic Fulani herdsmen and farmers. It is also argued that grazing reserves will boost livestock production, ease herding challenges and reduce seasonal migrations of herdsmen. The idea of grazing reserves is not new in the country. The colonial government toyed with it and a few years into independence, the Northern Regional Government took up the idea and proposed extensive grazing reserves in parts of Northern Nigeria including the Sokoto, Katsina, Zaria and Bauchi provinces. In 1965, the regional government enacted the Grazing Reserve Law whose high point included the ‘Fulani Amenities Proposal’ aimed at providing special amenities to support the pastoral Fulani. During the military era, both the World Bank and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supported efforts at further development of grazing reserves in the country.

    Though this international support did not yield any sustainable results as most of the planned reserves failed to take off, the concept was not entirely abandoned. High level Fulani lobby led by MACBAN (formed in 1972) and Pastoral Resolve have continued to throw up the idea as a possible solution to the incessant clashes between farmers and herdsmen.

    In 1998, the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) under its Chairman, General Muhammadu Buhari perfected a blueprint to rehabilitate grazing reserves and stock routes across the country. The blueprint became stillborn after General Sani Abacha’s demise. In 2012, The Pastoral Resolve, (PARE) a non-Governmental Organization founded to champion the interest and well-being of pastoralists in Nigeria  was reportedly seeking ¦ 5 billion to establish pilot grazing reserves in Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Kogi and Nasarawa states.  Grazing reserves and stock routes are known to dominate Fulani demands on the country and all leading presidential candidates in previous elections in the country since 1999 have committed themselves in writing to the Fulani on the issue of grazing reserves.

    In truth, the improvements needed in livestock production in the country cannot be initiated and successfully carried out if majority of Nigerians involved in livestock production insist on a nomadic lifestyle. There is no merit in this lifestyle today; moreover, the conditions that supported nomadism in the colonial and immediate post-colonial period have also drastically changed.

    Population has increased even in areas, like the North-central zone, which were hitherto assumed to be sparsely populated. Desert encroachment has also continued to be a major challenge in the country. In 1961, Nigeria had 0.51 hectares of arable land per citizen. In 1990, the figure shrank to 0.29.  By 2010, it was 0.21 hectares per person. At current population growth rate, it will shrink to 0.17 hectares per person by 2020 and, further to 0.13 by 2030 and 0.10 by 2040. It is estimated that by 2050, it will be 0.08 hectares per person. We must take urgent steps to transparently regulate and reform livestock production in the country as a way of avoiding further bloodshed. Grazing reserves are not a transparent or efficient way of regulation and reforming livestock production in the country. Even in parts of the country with high livestock population, the idea of grazing reserves has been virtually rejected. Grazing reserves in Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Bauchi, Kano and Borno have all been effectively abandoned.

    It is becoming clear to the discerning mind that the bloody push for grazing reserves outside the cattle producing states of the country is not more than a devious attempt to secure usufructuary rights to land and exploit the political opportunities that such rights may confer on the Fulani.  The Kachia Grazing Reserve as a template illustrates this point clearly.  Established in 1963, it became a strategic enclave for the Kachichera Fulani who had settled in Southern Kaduna since the Fulani Jihad of 1804. As agro-pastoralists, the Kachichera were still considered as ‘visitors’ in Southern Kaduna by the indigenous nationalities of the area. The Kachia reserve was established as a political masterstroke to give them a window of opportunity in the area.  They moved into the reserve from places like Kurmi Biri, Abet, Zagon Kataf, Zonkwa, Ungwan Rimi and Kagoro to secure usufructuary rights to the land and today, they have stepped up demands for a Ladduga chiefdom. It is noteworthy that up to this day, the indigenous people whose lands were appropriated for the Kachia reserve are yet to be compensated.

    We must redefine the Nigerian livestock challenge and disambiguate it from the Fulani challenge to be able to provide useful answers to the challenges. The Nigerian livestock challenge is about improved livestock production practices that would enhance the quantity and quality of animal protein and dairy related products to meet national needs. In tackling this challenge, the focus must be on how we can efficiently acquire and manage improved livestock breed, give the breed access to improved pasture and use herd management practices that can give us value for money. The challenge requires the permanent settlement of those involved in the livestock industry and informed economic decisions by individuals, governments and stakeholders who want to be involved in the livestock industry. In tackling this challenge, we must also appreciate the fact that not every area of the country has good potential for the livestock industry. There are also lessons to learn from history.

    In 1980, Governor Aper Aku of Benue State commissioned a study on the feasibility of grazing reserves in the state.  Findings from the study indicated that the provision of water (a basic infrastructural requirement in grazing reserves) would result in increased degradation of land around proposed water sources and in some instances boost tse–tse breeding. The study also found out that the characteristic cropping systems in the state around yam and cassava left little or no residue as supplementary feed for cattle in the dry season. More importantly, the study found out that no farmer nor community in the state was willing to allow their ancestral lands (which are their means of livelihood) to be appropriated for grazing reserves. The conclusions of the study showed that grazing reserves were not viable in Benue State.  This is one reason Governor Aper Aku  established a model cattle ranch at Ikyogen  where improved cattle breed were kept and grasses grown for them to ensure all year round  pasture. Grazing reserves in Nigeria have not reduced clashes between herdsmen and farmers. They certainly have given Fulani herdsmen usufractuary rights over land and other opportunities that come with those rights, yet they have not improved livestock production in any way. This is the sad fact.

    The Fulani challenge on the other hand is about unwavering attempts at clinging to an obsolete lifestyle in which livestock is kept for other reasons out of the economy. It involves a desperate and bloody push for ‘grazing rights’ for the Fulani of the ‘whole world’ to enable them continue a lifestyle of dire consequences. This is the explanation for the horrific massacres of farmers (including women and children) on their homesteads by well-armed Fulani gangs ready to take the law into their hands with impunity. Nigeria must face the Fulani challenge squarely and stamp out the indiscriminate migration of Fulani and their herds across the country. The Kadawa with their herds who also continue to crisscross our borders must be stopped. Allowing these cross border migrations has grave implications for national security, planning, health and the stability. The ECOWAS protocol on free movement of persons within the sub-region should not blind government from doing the needful. The protocol does not provide for free movement of livestock nor people with criminal intentions. ECOWAS countries like Ghana are increasingly turning away murderous herdsmen from their borders while other countries in the sub-region like Burkina Faso and Mali have opted to ranches.

    The grazing reserve concept is a simplistic answer to the challenge of livestock development in the country. It is an answer that is politically suspicious. It is not useful and has been overtaken by events. Grazing reserves will only continue to threaten other people and their livelihoods just as they will continue to complicate the education of the nomadic child and his future. They will open up the country to Fulani of the ‘whole world’. Nigeria has no land to contain them and no responsible modern nation state will accept such high nonsense especially when it is capable of threatening the peace.

    We must search for useful answers. These can be found in ranches, which have to be run as economic enterprises. On these, more livestock can be kept and the country can have more meat and dairy related products. Fulani leaders, politicians and businessmen must show the way in this. It is possible. While doing this, we must also recognize the rights of other people, communities and states to choose what livelihoods are appropriate to them. No group should be privileged above another here.

     

    • Gundu, PhD is of the Department of Archaeology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
  • Addressing the grazing challenge

    Addressing the grazing challenge

    For want of a grazing field, cattle have been invading farmlands. Such invasions have led to clashes between cattle rearers and farmers. Some experts are calling for the establishment of grazing zones in the North to address the problem, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    The livestock sector makes large net contributions to food supply. Red meat provides protein for about 150 million people. The cattle that supply red provides food, and also other products, such as leather, traction and manure.

    Traditionally, farmlands in the West and South provide pasture and water for the cattle, which graze the land.

    But the challenge of feeding the cattle has negative social, environmental and animal welfare implications. This is because the cattle roam large areas, causing damage to properties as well as natural resources.

    Last month, farmers in Ondo State  counted their losses after the invasion of their farms by Fulani herdsmen. The siege led to the destruction of crops worth millions of naira by their cattle.

    The cattle grazed farms, trampling on crops, which included maize. The Ondo State Agricultural Commodities Association demanded N2 billion compensation from the Federal Government for the colossal loss suffered by cocoa and oil palm plantations owners affected during the raid.

    In a communiqué signed by its Chairman, Akinola Olotu and the Secretary, Obaweya Gbenga, the group called for “urgent government assistance” for the affected farmers. The group said the menace of the nomads transcended grazing on crops, with “a new dimension of bush burning, rape and physical attack with machetes, robbery, kidnapping and destruction being recorded across the state”.

    The group called for measures to tackle the nomadic Fulani herdsmen.

    According to the group, the activities of the normads make them more dangerous and destructive as they destroy properties during raids.The farmers said they were living in fear of the Fulani cattle rearers.

    They said they could no longer entertain Fulani herdsmen and their cattle because they’re not law-abiding.

    The group has despatched a petition to the National Assembly on the matter.

    Olotu noted that the activities of Fulani herdsmen had become a serious problem and that the nomadic system of cattle rearing was obsolete.

    Also, farmers and residents of agrarian communities in some local government areas of Ogun State, also had some gory tales to tell on the menace of Fulani cattle rearers. Following their invasion, many lives were lost while properties worth millions of Naira were destroyed allegedly by Fulani marauders. It was gathered that the Fulani herdsmen move with their cattle from one of these agrarian communities to the other wreaking havoc.

    Indeed, conflicts over grazing and watering resources have become a major livelihood challenge for farming communities and pastoralists. The struggles for grazing lands have brought conflict between the Fulani pastoralists and crop farmers.   Cattle rearers from the North come to the South to graze.

    This is because of the low level of productivity across pastoral areas in the North, caused by  heat, aridity, low soil fertility, and unusually sharp seasonality. Associated with this is rainfall variability and periodic droughts that disturb long-term growth of herds.

    To address this, the Federal Government is introducing improved pasture seeds from Brazil to increase availability of fodder for cattle.

    Globally, improved pasture seeds, help dairy farmers increase nutrition levels, growth rates and reduce reliance on supplementary feeding. Besides, pasture is the most efficient, effective and economic source of feed for grazing-based livestock enterprises.

    For the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, improved pasture is important to grazers, livestock owners and breeders.

    With improved pasture seeds, he stressed that Nigeria can get excellent grass and legume seeds that are guaranteed to improve the vitality of the national herds under proper management.

    Even if planted in marginal areas with poor  soil and harsh environmental conditions, he noted that they were able to produce forage of high quality.

    Ogbeh stressed that the government was promoting improved pasture seeds to help cattle rearers and promote profitable livestock production.

    Consequently, the seeds will be made available to seed suppliers and cattle producers.

    In addition, the Minister explained that the government would acquire deep water rigs and build windmills to operate wells that will provide water for the planned grazing grounds.

    He added: “The massive paddocks for animal grazing will not only improve the quantity and quality of beef and milk produced in the country but will also make cattlerearers more sedentary.”

    Ogbeh said the Federal Government would embark on programme to develop massive grazing grounds for cattle to bring rearing and its attendant problems, such as Fulani herdsmen/farmers clashes to an end.

    Mainly, the improved pastured seeds programme is targeting pastoral herders in dry land hotspots of the North.

    This is besides the effort to find new ways to help communities living in the North to become more resilient and to increase their agricultural yields and incomes.

    The Director, Animal Production and Husbandry  Services Department, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Egejuru Eze, explained that the Brachiaria grass cultivars from Brazil  that government planned to introduce into the country is known for its productivity, vigour and high nutritive value and  would also improve the nitrogen level, over- all healthy structure of the soil.

    Mrs Eze said Brachiaria grass, which has good nutritional value that will result in higher weight gain per year per area, also has the ability to thrive in various ecological zones while the cultivation will be on commercial basis and privately led.

    She said: “We also have different type of seeds that can grow in different ecological zones of the country, we are going to bring improved pasture seeds/cultivars and plant them in different ecological zones where they will thrive to improve the pastures we have in those areas.”

    The director pointed out that improved pastures seeds were needed to be introduced and tested to increase pasture on commercial basis.

    She said Brachiaria was under evaluation in Brazil for over 18 years and was derived from an accession introduced from Nairobi, Kenya, citing the oil palm seed that was taken from NIFOR in Nigeria to Malaysia for development many years ago.

    She said Brachiaria grass is an excellent option that needs to be evaluated under Nigerian conditions.

    The director said governments would exploit the growth of Alfalfa, a leguminous pasture, which is suitable for dairy cattle production in the temperate areas such as Mambila Plateau, Adamawa, Jos Plateau and Obudu.

    To solve the problem, the  President, Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria (FACAN), Dr. Victor Iyama, canvassed that state governments in the North collaborate with FACAN to develop pasturelands systems that would support grazing of livestock by both landed and landless keepers.

    Experts believe Nigeria requires an increase in livestock production, especially, beef and dairy.