FG selects five states, FCT for pilot ranching programme

The Federal Government has identified five states including the Federal Capital Territory for the pilot implementation of its National Ranching Policy.

Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Maiha, disclosed this after briefing President Bola Tinubu on the ministry’s activities at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday.

Maiha said the pilot programme would commence at the Wase Grazing Reserve in Plateau as a proof of concept for the new ranching model.

He identified the six states altogether as Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Adamawa, alongside the FCT.

According to him, the areas were selected because they have recorded some of the highest incidences of farmer-herder conflicts in recent years.

“Our understanding is that large numbers of cattle on the move are crisis-prone because grazing routes have disappeared due to farming, urbanisation and infrastructure development.

“Nomadism, as we know it, is no longer sustainable and we need a different concept,” he said.