By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has launched the long-awaited National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) in Nasarawa State.
This makes it the pilot state in the country to kick-start the ranching project initiated in 2018.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Sabo Nanono, and the Nasarawa State Governor, Mr Abdullahi Sule, launched the Model Ranching Hub Project in Awe Grazing Reserve, in Awe Local Government Area, on Thursday.
Also present was the Plateau State Governor and Chairman, Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF), Mr Simon Lalong, as well as other dignitaries.
In a speech before the launching of the project, Mr Sule said the state decided to key into the NLTP, even before he came into office because of security challenges, occasioned by farmers/herders conflicts along the boundary with Benue State.
“On arrival, we were faced with many challenges and one of the biggest challenges was that of security,” he stated.
According to the Governor, Nasarawa State also decided to key into the scheme because of its inherent economic benefits associated with ranching.
He added that the desire to maximally utilize the hitherto abandoned grazing reserves, which have become the hiding place for criminal elements, motivated the state to adopt the plan.
He noted that every state has grazing reserves but that the security of the people was more important than ownership of any land.
While appreciating President Muhammadu Buhari for making the scheme a reality, the Governor appealed to the federal government not to limit the commencement of the NLTP to Nasarawa State, but to ensure it takes off in Wase, Plateau State, as well as the other two states identified for the take-off of the project.
He particularly thanked the Netherlands government for also keying into the NLTP and for the financial support to make the project a reality.
On his part, the Agric Minister, Mr Nanono, commended the Nasarawa State Governor for not only accepting the initiative from the federal government but for working tirelessly to accelerate the launching of the NLTP first model ranching hub project in Awe.
Mr Nanono underscored the challenges confronting the nation’s livestock sector, ranging from poor productivity, resulting from poor land management, climate change, outdated animal husbandry practice, among others, which all together became a recipe for the breach of peace and security, due mostly to incessant clashes involving farmers and herders.
The worsening security breaches, according to the Minister, necessitated a holistic resolution that will cater for not only improved productivity in the livestock subsector but also justice, security, recovery for victims of violent clashes, as well as human capital development.
Giving a project overview, the National Coordinator and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agriculture, Mr Andrew Kwasari, said the essence of the NLTP was to gradually develop the livestock subsector.
Mr Kwasari explained that the Awe model ranching hub will demonstrate ranching to the pastoralists and take them in batches at the household level and put them through the necessary technicalities.
In a goodwill message, the Dutch Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Harry Van Dijk, said the NLTP was a fallout of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between President Muhammadu Buhari and a consortium in the Netherlands to develop ranching in Nigeria.
