11 states donated 55,000 hectares for grazing - Audu Ogbeh

chika ebuzor

June 2, 2016 9:39 PM

Ogbeh said the land will be used to establish ranches, so the incessant clashes between herdsmen and farmers will reduce.

Minister for Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,

The states are Plateau, Kaduna, Kano, Gombe, Katsina, Taraba, Niger, Adamawa, Jigawa, Sokoto and the FCT.

Premium Times reports that the minister also said “2011 National Agricultural Sample Survey indicated that Nigeria was endowed with an estimated 19.5 million cattle, 72.5 million goats, 41.3 million sheep, 7.1 million pigs and 28,000 camels.”

Ogbeh also decried the low level of milk production in the country, saying “Saudi Arabia produces 4.7 million litres of milk daily while Nigeria imports about 1.3 billion dollar worth of milk annually to make up deficit.

“The way forward in improving our livestock and dairy industry is to intensify efforts on adding value to the industry along the respective livestock value chains.

“In line with our goal of attaining self sufficiency in animal protein, this administration has set out to establish ranches to be planted with high quality improved tropical grass and legume species.

“We shall provide irrigation for all year commercial fodder production to enhance settlement of pastoralist and ensure cattle, sheep and goat improvement through an expanded breeding programme through artificial insemination.

“We shall group dairy farmers in clusters, build their capacity and equip them with milk collection facilities and facilitate single digit loan for them."

undefinedthat will require state governments to provide land for Fulani herdsmen and their cattle.

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chika ebuzor