FG to transform 417 grazing reserves into mini-towns nationwide

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – THE Federal Government, Friday, disclosed plans to alteration the nation’s 417 grazing reserves into mini-towns with unchangeable powerfulness supply, schools, healthcare facilities, markets, abattoirs, roadworthy networks, water, sanitation, connection facilities, security, irrigation facilities, veterinary services, provender production, and others.

This was revealed by the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, astatine a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signing with the Rural Electrification Agency, REA, to supply solar-powered grids to the reserves upon their rehabilitation and resettlement.

Maiha besides lamented that the grazing reserves person been abandoned for galore years and nary meaningful efforts to rehabilitate them successful bid to ore improvement of the livestock assemblage arsenic movements of herds of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and others were nary much sustainable and invoke.

And arsenic a mode to deescalate herder-farmer conflicts, the modernization done rehabilitation of the 417 grazing reserves became imperative, and the governmental volition to footwear commencement it had commenced and the signing of the MoU with REA volition spell a agelong mode to alteration the communicative arsenic much pastoralists volition beryllium resettled successful the grazing reserves, and their migrations volition drastically trim arsenic much resources volition beryllium provided for them successful the grazing reserves.

He said: “Since coming connected board, this ministry has had an extended circuit of the 417 grazing reserves successful the country.

“We person had stakeholder engagement with pastoral communities, accepted rulers, the concern community, and I’ve travel to the afloat realization that pastoralism is being practiced today, nomadism is being practiced today, is nary longer sustainable into the aboriginal due to the fact that of a fig of reasons.

“Climate change, acute contention for scarce resources, the nationalist herd is improving successful size, is expanding successful size, and there’s truthful overmuch request and anticipation for our livestock sector.

“We consciousness that the grazing reserves we person had successful this state since earlier independency person been abandoned, and they person suffered assorted degrees of abandonment.

“We person travel up with a model, what we telephone Renewed Hope Livestock Village, wherever astir of these grazing reserves are going to beryllium rehabilitated with a fig of societal amenities.

“One, we volition physique world dams, galore of them person world dams that volition request to beryllium desilted for the cultivation of pasture passim the year.

“We volition enactment superior schools determination for the children of the herders, we volition physique superior wellness attraction for the families of the herders, veterinary clinics, arsenic good arsenic different activities, and therefore, for the prime of beingness to amended connected those areas, to incentivize the pastoralists to stay determination and person entree to different economical activities, we request to energize those areas.

“And the champion mode to bash it is not to trust connected a nationalist grid. We person discovered determination is simply a precise competent national authorities bureau called the Rural Edification Agency.

“We had respective discussions, and that led into penning up an MoU betwixt them and us, and today, we person seen the culmination of that relationship, wherever the MoU has been signed.

“They volition soon commencement rolling retired the star grids into immoderate of these grazing reserves.We person already identified one, Wawazangi, successful Gombe State. We person identified Wasem Plateau State. We person identified Gongoshin, Adamawa State, and we person identified Ka’u present successful Bwari Area Council nether the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, they are acceptable to rotation retired and amended the prime of life.”

Meanwhile, helium besides explained that the involution is not lone focused connected cattle connected grazing reserves, but different worth chains successful the livestock assemblage volition beryllium carried along.

“In fact, millions of animals, millions of pastoralists, millions of carnal keepers each implicit the state are going to bask this, and it is not lone going to beryllium constricted to the grazing reserves.

“Wherever we person a clump of carnal keepers, whether you are doing piggery connected a ample scale, whether you are doing goat oregon sheep connected a ample scale, whether you are doing cattle connected a ample scale, adjacent if you are not successful the grazing reserves, erstwhile yo...