The Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, said on Thursday mapping out grazing routes would end the herdsmen/farmers’ conflict in the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari had last month approved the review of 368 grazing sites across 25 states in the country to identify the level of encroachment on the routes.
Bagudu, who featured in a Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today, said mapping of the grazing reserves would help the government to identify the scale of the problem.
He added that the President’s directive did not exclude the prospect of ranching.
He said: “The committee is to identify grazing routes and work with states and map them. It is not to recover grazing routes, it is to identify the scale of the problem.
Mr. President is interested in an audit of grazing reserves. It is a voluntary and collaborative thing with the states.
People say we have spoken about ranching. Yes, but what is a ranch? Ranching does not take place in the air, it takes place on a piece of land.
“Ranches are as big as grazing reserves. In some countries like Australia, some ranches are bigger than some Nigerian states.
“We have interest historically to make our farmers do better. That’s why we have all kinds of programs and extension services, so our farmers can do better. And it is a desirable public goal.
“So, historically, we have invested more in the farming sector to the disadvantage of both fishing and animal husbandry.
“We want to help the herders modernise so Nigeria can benefit and generate more value from this important sector.
If we can support those in the banking sector with N5trillion to save the banks from collapsing, I don’t think we are doing any disservice to support our farmers, support millions in the animal husbandry sector and support our fishing communities as well.
