Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano state, says RUGA — an
acronym for rural grazing areas — is the only option to mitigate clashes
between herders and farmers.
In 2019, the idea of establishing RUGAs across the country
was met with stiff resistance by some governors.
At the time, David Umahi, governor of Ebonyi and chairman of
the South-East Governors Forum, said no area in the geo-political zone would be
given for the establishment of such settlements.
The National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP), which
promotes ranching, appeared to be accepted by a majority of the governors but
there has not been much in terms of implementation.
Speaking at the National Conference on Livestock Reforms and
Mitigation of Associated Conflicts in Abuja on Monday, Ganduje said RUGA would
afford herders land to graze their livestock and prevent them from going into
farmlands.
“The RUGA or ranching, which has been deliberately
politicised, remains the only option that would go a long way in mitigating
existential problems, as pastoralists would have lands to graze without cattle
encroaching on people’s farmlands,” the governor said.
“Because herders need fodder for their cattle and promote
alternative means of producing feedstock, which reduces the need for grazing
land.
“We have gone far in
the establishment of RUGA settlement in Kano. Already, 25 housing units out of
the projected 500, situated on 4, 413 hectares of land at Dansoshiya Forest in
Kiru local government have been completed and handed over to the herders. The
replica of the houses will be displayed during an exhibition planned as part of
this conference.
“Modernising the livestock sector is not only key to
resolving the herder-farmer conflict but was envisaged that this economic
investment pillar will support and strengthen the development of market-driven
ranches for improved livestock production through breed improvement and pasture
production.”
Ganduje said there is a need to educate the herders about
the development of grazing reserves in order to curb conflicts between them and
farmers.
“It is also very important that we must also avoid the
dangers of allowing these conflicts to harden to religious or ethnic
conflicts,” he said.
“This is the
responsibility of political, religious and all other parts of our leadership
elite in Nigeria.”
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