Ranching: Let FG’s Intervention Go Round 

In a bid to curb rising banditry in Katsina State, the Federal Government has released N6. 25 billion for the establishment of cattle ranches in local government areas affected by the crime in the state. This was disclosed by Alhaji Mannir Yakubu, the Deputy Governor of the state. Yakubu is also the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development. He said that the state would work with the affected areas for collaboration and support.
President Muhammadu Buhari approved the release of the N6.25 billion to the state government in July last year as part of ongoing efforts to address the security challenges. He also endorsed various sums for the establishment of ranches for other states in the North, including Benue and Nasarawa States, which had witnessed several clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the last few years.
The Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, recently made the release of the funds for the ranching public. According to him, Buhari had promised N6. 25 billion to begin the development of cattle ranches in the state. Of this amount, N5 billion had been paid into the state government account. He spoke at an occasion where the President commissioned the multi-billion Naira Zobe water project and a 50 km road project in Dutsinma in the state.
As good as the President’s largesse may look, we are concerned that the Federal Government has recently released such a huge amount of money to the Katsina State Government for cattle farms. This is because the ranch is a private enterprise. If someone wants to run a ranch, let that person or group acquire the land and build his or her ranch with personal funds. Moreover, Nigerians need to know whether the funding for the project is a donation or a budget.
No doubt, establishing ranches will go a long way towards ending the relentless slaughter and displacement of farming communities by armed pastoralists across the country. But the Federal Government should not use the meagre resources at its disposal to fund ranching anywhere, including in President Buhari’s home town. Financing herders while excluding other privately owned businesses such as crop farming, among others, amounts to grave injustice and discrimination.
Doing so would constitute a wrong priority in the face of mounting financial challenges caused by factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, high inflation, poverty, unemployment, and volatile crude oil prices. Nigeria is already faced with a huge debt burden. The 2023 federal budget is premised on total projected revenue of N19.76 trillion, with the budget deficit at N11.30 trillion, which is to be financed through borrowings from the domestic and foreign debt markets. As of now, the nation’s debt stands at N41. 6 trillion.
Furthermore, Buhari’s double standard on this is bewildering. How could he approve N6.25 billion for pastures in Katsina, while encouraging open grazing and cattle-grazing routes in other parts of the country? We recall the President’s vehement opposition to the resolution against open grazing by the Southern governors. Buhari was too distant from reality to appreciate the implications of the system.
Globally, nomadic and open grazing is disgusting. In Nigeria, for example, Fulani cattle herders’ nomadic lifestyle is at variance with the sedentary cultures of other communities. Besides, owing to decades of natural gas burning and the accompanying acid rain, with the attendant cow dung, urine and human waste that go with it, the environment in the South is already degraded.
Katsina was not even among the 10 states earmarked in 2018 by the National Economic Council (NEC) headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for the pilot cattle ranching scheme known as the Livestock Transformation Plan under which the Federal Government was to spend N179 billion over 10 years to establish ranches throughout the country. The 10 states are Adamawa, Benue, Ebonyi, Edo, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Oyo, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara.
Already, some states listed for the pilot programme, such as Ebonyi and Benue, have since rejected it outright. Also, the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) issued a statement rebuffing the proposal. These are clear indications that this manner of pursuing the ranching programme will not promote peace in the country. If the President has decided to fund the building of ranches, the intervention should go round the country for fairness and equity.
Being a private sector enterprise, those engaged in livestock farming should directly acquire the land, either through leasing or outright purchase. This is the practice globally. For instance, in the United States, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers a variety of funding opportunities to help farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners finance their businesses. Similar agencies in Nigeria can equally do the same to those in need of funds for ranching; but certainly not the Federal Government.
Therefore, we oppose any form of use of public funds by the government for any business or ethnic group. This will never bring the much-needed peace. Instead, it will lead to enormous ethnic conflicts. Most landed properties, especially in the South, belong to families and communities. Acacquiring them by executive fiat will inflame unhealthy passions. We think that rather than build ranches with public funds, such monies should be channelled towards meeting some of the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) which has been on a protracted strike.
We support efforts by the government or the private sector to upgrade livestock farming from nomadism to ranching. However, it is difficult to understand why the presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, still pontificates the nationwide adoption of open grazing. Thankfully, Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu publicly rebuked him. This means that Garba and the President are at odds on resolving the herder/farmer conflict. Indeed, the spokesman is still caught in anachronism and deserves help embracing modernism.
Ranching will offer a long-lasting solution to the recurring conflicts between herdsmen and farmers if the herdsmen are fully sensitised and educated about the benefits of the programme. In this way, they may be able to assume full ownership of the ranches. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources should liaise with their state counterparts to ensure the realisation of the laudable scheme.