Controversy has arisen since President Bola Tinubu announced the creation of the Ministry of Livestock Development in the middle of this year.
While its critics describe it as a duplication of functions in an over-bloated bureaucracy at a time when the government must downsize its structures amid dwindling resources and hardships among citizens, its supporters argue that it could, in due season, A child is born.
The President has appointed a de facto minister to oversee the new ministry based on the report of Attahiru Jega's Presidential Livestock Development Committee, with the expectation that it will fulfill its core mandate.
The committee presented 22 recommendations to harness the huge benefits from Nigeria's 58 million cattle and poultry farms which include identifying value chain, input, production and export opportunities.
The sector is seen to have the potential to generate N33 trillion for the national economy with huge employment opportunities and nutritional value.
The committee also suggested ways to deal with the perennial farmer-herder conflicts and insecurity created by cattle rustling.
It advised the government to adopt a mix of both “cultivation and open grazing” in the short term to address worsening farmer-herder clashes across the country.
It is common knowledge that the protracted conflict between herders and farmers in Nigeria has escalated into a full-blown security crisis that has ruined the country's food security programme.
These conflicts arise primarily from conflicts over control of natural resources, especially land and water, which are exacerbated by climate change and socio-economic and cultural inequalities.
The conflict between farmers and herders in the north has since assumed a national dimension. Herders moved south to pasture lands, leading to violent conflicts with indigenous farming communities.
In the north, violence began when local farmers were defending their crops against cattle herders, who often raided their fields with impunity.
At first, farmers began capturing such cattle as a form of resistance, before this turned into cattle rustling, kidnapping and robbery as local criminals took over the situation.
Over time, the clashes spread to the Middle Belt region and southern Nigeria, killing thousands of people and displacing many communities.
Sadly, these conflicts have frustrated the efforts of traditional security agencies. Even the formation of local security organizations by state governments has not yielded the desired results, as militia herdsmen, bandits and kidnappers continue to carry out massacres on the local people.
As the conflict intensified, criminal elements took advantage of it and turned it into a lucrative industry of banditry and kidnapping. Even shepherds are not untouched by these crimes.
The crisis has taken on a complex dimension, attracting more threat actors and making its solution difficult. Herder-farmer hostilities are followed by insurgency in terms of destruction of lives and property.
Today, no part of the country, especially rural communities, is safe enough for farmers to plant and harvest crops. In some states, farmers pay fees and taxes to bandits before they reach their fields. This has worrying implications for agriculture and food security.
Nigeria has seen a decline in food production. The movement of agricultural produce to cities and urban centres, where it exists, has been disrupted, resulting in rising food prices beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerians.
As a newspaper, we are glad that the Ministry has the Presidential mandate to find a permanent solution to the short-term and long-term menace of herders-farmers.
Therefore, we challenge the Livestock Development Minister to come into the field. There is no time to waste.
Although it is very early, Nigerians are expecting major policy announcements by the minister. No one has come yet.
Without further delay, the Minister should announce short and long-term domestic measures to resolve this difficult conflict.
Such policy announcements should include the proposed establishment of grazing reserves in areas designated for animal husbandry to reduce stress. There will be no difference in continuing open grazing when some states have made laws against it.
The ministry should create conflict resolution platforms where aggrieved herders and farmers can demand immediate resolution.
The ministry should also study countries with thriving livestock industries and adopt such policies and practices to make Nigeria a global player.
Additionally, the Ministry should reach out to international partners and investors to help address the current challenges of the sector.
As the ministry plans to act effectively, it will have to avoid wasteful expenditure, be transparent and accountable, de-emphasise bureaucracy and set attainable targets with specific timelines.
Similarly, it should also avoid the temptation of being a regional body. This is not a ministry of shepherds. Other Nigerians are involved in livestock production in some form or the other. Their interests should be considered and taken into account. Nigerians have great expectations, and therefore, the minister must not fail.
The challenges are fundamental and do not require routine solutions. The herders-farmers conflict is a ticking time bomb that threatens the stability and food security of Nigeria. Urgent action is needed to address the root causes and prevent further growth.
Source link
