Ranching was picked as the best solution to the crises in a poll published on www.punchng.com on Tuesday. The poll respondents pointed out that since ranching is being practiced all over the world and has worked well in reducing conflicts between farmers and herdsmen, the model should also be adopted in Nigeria.
In the poll, respondents were asked what they thought the solution to the crises was between creating a grazing range around the country and enforcing the ranching system on cattle rearers. Respondents were asked why they chose either of the options and they were given the option to suggest other solutions, in case they think neither of the two options would be adequate.
Sixty-eight percent of the respondents were in favour of ranching as the solution, 14 percent think creating grazing range around the country could solve the problem, while 17.9 percent had other suggestions apart from creating grazing range around the country and enforcing ranching.
One trend among respondents supporting the ranching option is that if one must rear cattle, one must be ready to bear the cost of feeding them without upsetting others in the process.
“The herdsmen should and must be able to feed their livestock not to the detriment of other people’s properties. Herdsmen, should be restricted to their ranches, we are living in a civilised world today,” a respondent said.
While supporting ranching, one respondent argue against grazing areas, saying “Ranching is the practice in all developing and developed world. Creating grazing fields won’t solve the problem because the cattle will still need to move from one grazing area to another. As long as they continue to move, they will continue to encroach on people’s farms.”
“Ranching forces people to recognise that cattle keeping is a private affair and you should be willing to create the correct business environment and be willing to pay for it. In other words if you want a ranch in Owo then buy the land legitimately and keep your cattle and don’t trespass on other people’s properties,” a respondent said.
Respondents in support of grazing reserves appear to view the issue from the perspective of proper monitoring. They argue that security agencies will be able to monitor the herdsmen properly if there are designated grazing areas around the country.
“When all cattle gather to feed, their waste could be used to generate power. Also the security forces can identify with the cattle breeders and fish out the ones that don’t have a certificate of breeding,” another respondent said.
“The nomadic way of rearing animals in Nigeria is outdated and will not meet current and future meat production in largest black nation. Nigeria government with the support of state and farmer associations should set up farms. This should be looked at from pure business rather than outdated and criminal free grazing. Any future killing or harassment of farmers should be treated as murder case and treason against the nation,” a respondent said.
One respondent who said neither of the two options could give the best solution identified transportation of cattle to market as one major reason for moving the cattle around in the first place and not necessarily feeding. The respondent suggested that if a good transportation system could be used to connect the north and the south purposely for transporting livestock, then the issue would be resolved.
A respondent said, “While it may be true that the Fulani herdsmen are nomadic they can remain so in the vast territory of the northern part of the country. I venture to state that the major reason why the Fulani have to drive their cattle across the country and particularly southwards is to get them to the market. There is none of the herdsmen groups that will bring their herds of cattle down south and return back to the north with them. They will always ensure that they sell them off. The pressure to move south is both the need to look for food for their herds as well as the market to sell them off. This therefore tells me that it is principally the market that brings them on to farmlands in the south going as further down south as Oyo and Ekiti States. If government is desirous of stopping the incessant killings and fights between farmers and herdsmen, it could create train/cattle depots and limit the footprint of the herdsmen further south thus reducing conflicts. In addition to moving the cattle via trains, perhaps the Federal and State governments can establish refrigerated railway wagon systems which will be deployed to bring down already butchered cow meat from these Train/Cattle depots to centres of population further south. This will reduce greatly the herdsmen footprint and therefore the frequency of conflicts. It is my view that the businessmen whose cattle the Fulani herdsmen are moving around should be made to play fundamental roles in this proposal. I have not come across any comments or contributions on this issue that has demanded their direct involvement. Neither have there been any of them coming forward to proffer any solutions from their perspective. Cow management business including moving them around is a business and the business stakeholders must all come together to resolve the Fulani – Farmer conflict.
In all, respondents seem to agree that if the crises are not handled promptly and carefully, grave consequences could be encountered in future.
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