FG gets over 6000 EoI on establishment of ranches

In its search for lasting solution to problems associated with pastoralists conflicts, banditry and cattle rustling in the country, the federal government said it has so far received 6000 expression of interests from Nigerians interested in ranching.

The expression of interests, Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development said it is timely and coming at a time when the national and state governments are emphasising the development of grazing reserves and stock routes as a panacea of heightened pastoralists conflicts.

Ogbeh who spoke at a retreat on Livestock and diary development in Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja said, “We advertised last month for Nigerians interested in ranching. We expected 200 per tons of people expressing interests from South, East and West; we received over 6000 expression of interests. 6000 people willing to keep cattle”

“We are looking at a gigantic programme of artificial insemination, and we shall organise it well in partnership with you the organised private sector,” Audu said. “While taking your advice and criticism.”

“Government will not own any of this project, it will be absolutely private sector driven, because government is not a good manager of business “Ogbeh noted further.

Lending support to Federal Government’s proposed ranching, the Secretary General Miyetti Allah Cattle breeders Baba Othman Ngelzarma said, “We have been working closely with the federal Ministry of agriculture, and now we have about 13 states which have declared their intention to provide the ministry with 5000 hectares of land for growing grasses, and sure others will soon follow suit.

It is in nobody’s interests that there is crisis here and there and even the cattle breeders are tired of it. They also die, they also loss cattle in addition to their children and wives, while the crises are going on.

Although, it the normadic style of the pastoralists has some cultural links, we are sensitising them on accepting the realities of the modern day. We are in full support of what the federal ministry of agriculture  is doing. They are doing it on behalf of our members”

It would be noted that Nigeria’s milk production is extremely poor with about a litre cow per day compared to Brazil and Saudi Arabia of 30-40 litres-cow per day. Saudi Arabia produces 4.7 million litres of milk daily while Nigeria imports $1.3 billion milk  annually to make up for the deficit.

Despite this huge and robust population of Nigeria livestock enterprise, majority of livestock in Nigeria is kept by subsistence farmers. The gap between actual and expected protein intake among Nigerians continues to widen. The livestock sub-sector contributes only 5.1 percent to our Gross Domestic Project, making Nigeria a net importer of protein food of animal origin.