In its bid to stop the clash between herdsmen and farmers across the country, the federal government will, next week start the setting up of cattle colonies.
The colonies will be set up in states that show interest.
This was made known on Friday by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh.
Ogbeh said the 10-man working committee set up by the National Economic Council on Thursday with Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, as chairman and nine governors as members, would facilitate the commencement of the cattle colonies.
Ogbeh who spoke during a visit to the Agriculture and Veterinary Complex of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, said the colonies would make it possible to benefit more from rearing cattle.
He said making the cattle to travel a long distance was more painful to them and made it difficult to milk them as it should be.
His words: “It doesn’t allow us to harvest milk; the cows are not well fed. What is going on is almost torture to animals.
“If we can create a new environment for cattle, give them what they need, protect them from rustlers, the herdsmen will quickly discover that they are making far more money than what they are doing now.’’
He said further: “We are happy that we are making progress in agriculture now.
“One of the most topical issues we have today is that of farmers and herdsmen clashes.
READ ALSO : Nigeria send Libya tumbling back to earth
“If we do not deal with it quickly, we run the risk of damaging the harmony and the co-existence of Nigeria as a country. The killings are getting too many.
“In our attempt to solve the problem, we have proffered certain solutions but perhaps we were not sensitive enough to Nigeria’s fragile sensitivities and suspicions.
“When we spoke of colonies, we were immediately greeted with reactions that this was an attempt to cease Nigeria’s land and give to the Fulani to colonise.
“The intention is not for Fulani or anyone to colonise any territory. It is to provide a haven for cattle to graze in peace under controlled environments to prevent the conflicts between farmers and herdsmen.
“Only yesterday, a committee was set up by the Vice President with members, most of them, state governors, discussing this matter and resolving that states that are interested will begin work on this matter as soon as next week.’’
In his speech, the Director of NAPRI, Prof. Clarence Lakpini, spoke about the importance of the cattle to the economy of the country.
“We have a population of about 19.7 million cattle and total of 113.8 million sheep and goats. These are animals that graze and 90 per cent of these are owned by the pastoralists.
“These animals contribute a lot to the GDP of Nigeria. In fact, in the agricultural sector, it contributes 30 per cent of the National Agricultural GDP and of the National GDP, 3.2 per cent.’’
