Simon Lalong, governor of Plateau state, has asked the federal government to release
funds for the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan
(NLTP).
Lalong said northern governors have accepted modern methods
of grazing to explore the business angle of cattle rearing.
NLTP was proposed by Audu Ogbeh, former minister of
agriculture, in 2018 and was adopted by the national economic council (NEC)
headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.
The approach seeks to provide ranches for livestock with a
view of mitigating the incessant farmer-herder clashes.
In recent times, the clashes have worsened, leading to the
loss of lives and properties.
To curb the clashes, southern governors recently resolved to
ban open grazing — a decision that sparked mixed reactions from various
quarters.
Speaking on the development on Saturday, Lalong, who is also
the chairman of the Northern Governors Forum (NGF), said the governors will not
politicise the situation to create more problems.
“Let me emphasise that we have no intention of politicizing
this matter. Our interest is to transform it into a purely economic activity
and also end the negative aspects of the current practice without creating new
problems,” he said.
“We as Northern Governors therefore adopted the National
Livestock Transformation Programme (NLTP) and called on the Federal Government
to release funds to willing states to start.
“In fact, some states have begun processes to end open
grazing in their states.
“Kaduna has a ranch with DANO milk as a pilot; Plateau has
sent a bill on ranching to the state assembly, Zamfara, Kano, Taraba, Niger,
Nasarawa have Started ranch constructions.
“Benue State has had an anti-grazing law for some years.
Northern governors are already walking the talk.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com