Presidential Livestock Committee proposes hybrid approach to address farmer-herder conflicts

Business a.m.

The Presidential Livestock Reform Committee (PLRC) has announced that the optimal solution to the ongoing farmer-herder conflict in Nigeria lies in the implementation of a hybrid system involving both ranching and open grazing.

Speaking to State House correspondents shortly after submitting a 152-page inception report on livestock reforms in Nigeria, Attahiru Jega, co-chairman of the Presidential Livestock Reform Committee, revealed that the committee has arrived at the conclusion that a hybrid solution, incorporating elements of both ranching and open grazing, is currently the only short-term way forward in resolving the farmer-herder conflict.

Jega emphasised that the committee’s recommendations are intended as an interim solution while the federal government works towards its long-term goal of promoting intensive livestock production in Nigeria.

The co-chairman of the committee further clarified that the committee’s focus was to facilitate the realisation of the long-term objective of intensive livestock production, which is seen as a more sustainable approach to addressing the challenges faced by farmers and herders in Nigeria.

Jega reiterated that the proposed policies and frameworks would provide for a hybrid approach, accommodating both ranching and open grazing for a specified period, while also undertaking efforts to increase public awareness of the extensive and complex nature of pastoralism in Nigeria.

“You cannot wake up tomorrow and have only ranching because there is already a large portion of the population involved in traditional pastoral activities. What do you do with them? It’s not a case of either/or, but any solution developed now has to be a combination of both.

“We are promoting long-term objectives like intensive livestock production, but you cannot achieve this overnight.

You need to develop policies and frameworks that can accommodate both for a period of time. The objective is to have intensive livestock production, not the extensive pastoralism we currently have,” Jega stated.

In the 152-page inception report, the committee proposed a 10-year implementation period for the recommended policies and frameworks, aiming to bring about gradual yet significant improvements in the livestock sector in Nigeria.

Jega further acknowledged that the committee had suggested the creation of a Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, accompanied by a detailed roadmap for its establishment.

On a related note, Winnie Lai-Solarin, the National Project Coordinator for the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project, presented a detailed breakdown of the estimated livestock population in Nigeria.

Lai-Solarin based her figures on the most recent National Agricultural Sample Census (2022) and projections from the Federal Department of Animal Husbandry Services. According to her report, Nigeria is home to 563 million poultry, 600 million sheep, 124 million goats, 58 million cattle, and 16 million pigs.

Lai-Solarin stressed that the large livestock population in Nigeria presents an exceptional opportunity for investors in the livestock sector.

“You can imagine the volume of investment in the feed industry. With this pronouncement by Mr President, and with these numbers, Nigeria has the largest livestock population in West Africa and ranks fifth in Africa.

“Poultry alone represents over N1.7 trillion in investment. The reforms we have implemented and those we are proposing will move the ruminant sector from 1 per cent in intensive production. Currently, only 1 per cent of our ruminants are reared intensively, while about 85 per cent are reared extensively. What does that tell you? 85 per cent are in the hands of pastoralists.

“The reform aims to gradually move and expand this production system, similar to what we have in the poultry sector, where 31 per cent of production is intensive,” she stated.

In September 2023, the National Livestock Reforms Committee, headed by Attahiru Jega, presented a report to then President-Elect Tinubu, recommending the establishment of a Federal Ministry of Livestock Resources to address the farmer-herder conflict and improve livestock resource management.

The committee’s report laid out a reform agenda, which focused on mitigating conflict between farmers and herders while also promoting sustainable management of livestock resources.