Barring any last-minute changes, President Bola Tinubu will receive the recommendations of the Presidential Committee on Implementation of Livestock Reforms in two weeks, August 7, 2024.
The committee’s co-chairman and former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Attahiru Jega, revealed this to State House correspondents after briefing the President at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday.
“We think that maximum in the next two weeks, we should be able to present a report to Mr. President, from which we can then begin the process of actual implementation,” Jega affirmed.
Two weeks ago, on July 9, President Tinubu hinted at plans to create a new Ministry of Livestock Development to, among many benefits, curb decades of gory clashes between herders and farmers.
He also inaugurated the Presidential Committee on Implementation of Livestock Reforms, expressing readiness to implement recommendations on ranching and other livestock reforms to enhance the economy.
The President, who Chairs the committee, then appointed Jega as co-chairman
“This presents a unique opportunity to delineate and establish a separate ministry called the Ministry of Livestock Development. We will develop the economy and give people the opportunity to excel,” Tinubu said when he inaugurated the committee at the State House, Abuja.
Speaking on Wednesday, Jega said, “So our meeting today is to meet with Mr President and update him about what we have been doing since the inauguration of the committee and to also receive further guidance.
“And we have received great encouragement from Mr. President, given his recognition that if we get this thing right, we will add tremendous value to so many things in our country.”
The former INEC chief said Nigerians should expect well-thought-through recommendations from the committee that, if successfully implemented, could “add tremendous value in terms of achieving those defined objectives of opening up the opportunities in the livestock sector and also helping mitigate crisis and conflict which are associated with the sector.”
On his part, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, said Tinubu is eager to receive, review and implement the recommendations for the new livestock ministry.
Kyari said, “Mr. President today has expressed his excitement and he’s very anxious for this to take off. You’re well aware that a new ministry has been created by Mr President, and he is waiting for the report so that the ministry can take off immediately after the report has been submitted by the committee.
“So all stakeholders are excited because there’s so much potential you can unbundle from the livestock sector, and there is the value chain that would create enormous wealth, jobs and most importantly, nutrition for the food security aspect of the country.”
The National Livestock Reforms Committee first recommended the creation of a “Ministry of Livestock Resources” to Tinubu last September.
Former Kano State Governor and Chairman of the All Progressives Congress Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, who led the delegation at the time, said the new ministry is one of 21 recommendations tabled in a document submitted to the President to enhance the Federal Government’s holistic response to the lingering cases of bloodshed.
The document spelt out details of the proposed solutions where the committee advocated a reform agenda examining conflict mitigation and resource management.
“This agenda should include the establishment and resuscitation of grazing reserves as suggested by many experts and well-meaning Nigerians and other methods of land utilisation.
“Create the Ministry of Livestock Resources in line with practice in many other West African countries. In the alternative, Federal and State Governments should expand the scope of existing Departments of Livestock Production to address the broader needs of the industry,” the document read.
According to a PUNCH report last August, Nigeria’s farmer-herder crisis, which is more pronounced in the North-Central zone, has lingered for over two decades, claiming over 60,000 lives since 2001.
Desert encroachment in the north has forced nomadic herders to move southwards, seeking greener pastures for cattle. This has resulted in a stiff struggle for resources with farmers.
But Tinubu said implementing livestock reforms will address obstacles to agricultural productivity and open up new opportunities that benefit farmers, herders, processors, and distributors in the livestock-farming value chain.
“This sector will boost agricultural productivity, enhance export opportunities and stimulate economic growth by fostering a robust value chain that benefits farmers, processors, herders, distributors and consumers alike,” he said.
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