Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders
Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, has faulted Federal Government’s proposed
establishment of cattle colonies, saying it should rather revive the existing
grazing reserves across the country.
MACBAN said that the 415 grazing
reserves in the country covered about three million hectares of land, adding
that the reserves had been neglected by the government over the years hence the
reason for the dilapidated infrastructure in them.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja on
Sunday, the National Secretary of MACBAN, Alhaji Baba Ngelzarma, said the
reserves lacked water, which was 70 per cent need of cattle.
Ngelzarma said, “We accept the
fact that there has been a serious encroachment of the reserves by farmers.
“First, let’s identify these grazing
reserves. Identify those that are still there, assess the level of
encroachment.
“From our tour of the grazing
reserves, we discovered that they all have infrastructure in them but because
of the neglect on the part of the government, all the infrastructure are
dilapidated.
“The dams are still there, the
boreholes no longer work, the nomadic schools don’t work, and the veterinary
clinics are there but they are not working.
“What can you do with a cattle
colony when you have grazing reserves for the pastoralists.
“They (pastoralists) are out of
the reserves because there is no water there, environmental factors and
neglect.
“Let the federal and state
governments which are custodians of the reserves begin to develop the reserves.
“Let them make the reserves
attractive for the pastoralists, and they will come back.
“Their major requirement is
water. If you can provide water in the reserves, it will make them attractive
for pastoralits to come back. Everybody is tired of these crisis.’’
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