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• Targets Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Adamawa, FCT
The federal government, in a move to change the way livestock is produced in Nigeria, has designed a new ranching strategy to keep cattle within developed settlements and eliminate the movement of large herds, which has been a major trigger of the farmer-herder conflict.
Under the plan, the government intends to rehabilitate and transform 417 grazing reserves across the country into integrated livestock communities, beginning with a pilot ranching project in Plateau State and extending interventions to six areas identified as major conflict flashpoints.
The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, disclosed this on Tuesday after briefing President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, on the activities of his ministry and progress in implementing the National Ranching Policy.
Maiha listed Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Adamawa states, alongside the Federal Capital Territory, as priority areas for the intervention because of their long history of farmer-herder clashes.
But rather than treating the crisis solely as a security problem, the government is seeking to tackle what it considers one of its underlying economic and environmental drivers: the need for cattle to travel long distances in search of pasture and water.
Maiha said the traditional model of livestock production had become increasingly difficult to sustain as grazing routes disappeared under the pressure of expanding agriculture, urbanisation and infrastructure development.
“Large number of cattle on the move is crisis-prone because, number one, the grazing routes have disappeared. Farms, large farms have come up, aggressive urbanisation, demand for land for infrastructure development, so many other things have made nomadism not sustainable,” he said.
The minister’s position represents a major shift in the government’s approach to the farmer-herder conflict, with ranching being presented not merely as a means of confining cattle but as a broader economic model capable of reducing rural conflicts while creating new businesses and employment opportunities.
According to Maiha, the logic behind the policy is straightforward: if pasture and water can be provided where livestock are kept, there would be less incentive for herders to move large numbers of cattle across farming communities.
“Why don’t you provide these resources in situ and stop these animals from moving? Human beings can move; they don’t cause crisis. It’s the animals’ movement that normally generates this crisis,” he said.
The government has therefore begun developing a model in which livestock settlements would have access to cultivated pasture, water, veterinary services and other basic infrastructure, allowing herders to transition from extensive nomadic production to more settled and commercially oriented livestock farming.
Maiha said the Plateau pilot would provide a practical demonstration of how the new system could work before its expansion to other parts of the country.
The proposed rehabilitation of the 417 grazing reserves would also change the character of the facilities, which the minister said were being conceived as economic communities rather than isolated locations where cattle would simply be confined.
Under the model, the reserves would have housing, primary schools, healthcare facilities, veterinary clinics, solar power installations and earth dams for irrigation and pasture production.
The government also expects the concentration of livestock in properly developed reserves to create the economic scale required to attract private investment into the livestock value chain.
Maiha said a reserve accommodating tens of thousands of cattle could support milk collection centres, dairy processors, modular abattoirs, biodigesters and other businesses.
“At the end of the day, each of those grazing reserves will become an economic hub. Imagine what you are going to have if you have 30,000 head of cattle in one area. The milk collection alone will attract milk processors.
“They will attract modular abattoirs. They will attract biodigesters. They will attract so many things that will come there. That is our concept, and that’s what we have been selling to them,” he said.
The federal government is also attempting to secure buy-in from pastoral communities before implementing the transition on a wider scale.
Maiha said the ministry had so far engaged about 34 pastoral organisations and had held consultations with pastoralists under the leadership of the Grand Patron of Miyetti Allah and the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar.
He said another engagement with the pastoral groups was expected within the next two weeks.
The minister said the consultations had so far not produced significant resistance because, according to him, pastoralists themselves were increasingly confronted with the limitations of the old system.
“So far, we have not seen resistance from anybody because the reality on the ground is that nomadism, as it were, is no longer sustainable, and we need a different concept,” he said.
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The government is also linking ranching to productivity, arguing that better livestock breeds would allow pastoralists to maintain fewer animals while producing more milk and meat.
Maiha said the government was promoting breed improvement alongside commercial pasture cultivation, with grass to be produced either within livestock settlements or harvested from other locations and transported to the ranches.
The strategy is expected to reduce pressure on land and lessen the competition between farmers and livestock owners over access to grazing areas.
Another element of the plan is the introduction of radio frequency identification technology for livestock. Maiha said cattle and other four-legged animals would be fitted with electronic ear tags that would provide identification, geolocation and proof of ownership.
The technology, he explained, would form part of a national livestock database and help authorities identify animals that stray or are stolen, potentially strengthening efforts against cattle rustling.
The minister described the initiative as part of the government’s non-kinetic response to insecurity in rural communities.
Beyond conflict prevention, however, the ranching programme is being positioned as part of a wider attempt to transform livestock from a largely traditional activity into a modern commercial industry.
Maiha said the ministry was simultaneously working on modern abattoirs, dairy production, commercial fodder cultivation, veterinary services, vaccine storage and poultry development.
He disclosed that seven model veterinary clinics had already been established, while the ministry’s long-term plan was to have at least one model veterinary hospital in every state and expand veterinary clinics to communities currently underserved.
The government is also developing off-grid cold-chain facilities for animal vaccines, aimed at ensuring that vaccines can be stored and transported at the temperatures required to preserve their effectiveness.
Maiha said the ministry was encouraging investment in modern abattoirs to replace open slaughter facilities, which he considered inadequate in terms of public health and modern livestock management standards.
On dairy production, he said discussions were ongoing with local investors and development partners on large-scale projects, while commercial fodder production was being encouraged to serve both domestic and export markets.
The poultry industry is also expected to receive intervention, with the government considering large-scale importation of hatchable eggs as a short-term measure to address shortages and reduce the waiting period for local poultry producers seeking day-old chicks.
The livestock minister said the programmes were part of the federal government’s broader decision to make livestock a mainstream component of the national economy.
He noted that the Ministry of Livestock Development was created in July 2024 under the Tinubu administration to modernise the sector and make it more productive, sustainable and globally competitive.
Maiha said the creation of the ministry had also encouraged about 20 states to establish corresponding ministries or agencies, creating a framework for closer coordination between the federal government and state governments.
That collaboration is particularly important to the ranching policy because much of the land required for livestock development falls under the control of state governments.
The government’s approach therefore goes beyond the establishment of ranches. It seeks to create a new livestock economy in which cattle are identifiable, professionally managed, vaccinated and fed through cultivated pasture, while processing and other businesses are located closer to production centres.
For a country that has struggled for years with violent clashes linked to competition over land and grazing resources, the success of the strategy could depend largely on whether the proposed ranching settlements become economically viable enough to persuade pastoralists to abandon long-distance cattle movement.
Maiha said President Tinubu remained firmly behind the initiative and demonstrated detailed knowledge of developments in the livestock sector during their meeting.
He quoted the president as describing the livestock value chains as “fantastic” and encouraging Nigerians to take advantage of opportunities in the industry.
“The President has been very supportive, and we are very grateful for that political support and for the understanding we are getting from Mr President.
“For us, actually, we need not ask for more, but to go back and deliver,” Maiha said.
