With the readiness of 11 states to jump into the ranch bandwagon, the resistance to the federal government’s initiative appears to be weakening. The states are Lagos, Plateau, Ondo, Zamfara, Bauchi, Delta, Niger, Kano, Jigawa, Nasarawa and Anambra. The initiative is widely believed to be the only way out of the quagmire precipitated by the intractable violent clashes between herders and farmers that have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives across the nation in recent years.
It is also gratifying to note that many more states have pledged lands for the purpose of ranching with a few more developing policies that will guide the initiative as a viable business venture.
It has now become more urgent and imperative to encourage ranching across the states given the recent upsurge in killings as evidenced by the Yelwata pre-dawn massacre that claimed more than 200 lives on June 13, 2025, the most gruesome singular mass murder executed so far in the annals of such catastrophes. It was perhaps in response to the intractable conflicts in various parts of the country in recent years that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration deemed it fit to establish a full-fledged Ministry for Livestock Development to address the conundrum.
It will be recalled that the immediate-past administration came up with the Rural Grazing Reserve (RUGA), an innovation aimed at establishing designated locations for Fulani herders as a route to escape the perennial conflicts with farmers.
However, the initiative only fueled the suspicion that the federal government under the watch of former President Muhammadu Buhari wanted to create an opportunity to garrison his kinsmen in strategic locations in pursuit of the agenda of his Fulani kinsmen to take over the country. The novel idea was stiffly resisted especially in the North-central zone and the entire southern region and it had to be abandoned at its inchoate state.
Feelers from across the states have indicated that many Nigerians including cattle breeders, farmers and stakeholders are favourably predisposed to the idea of ranching. The preference for open grazing which has been a primordial practice is rooted in its economic benefits to herders who graze their animals on free vegetation rather than stationing them at a location and providing fodder for them at huge costs, unmindful of the losses suffered by farmers whose crops are feasted on.
Also, as a way forward, the Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Muktar Maiha, recently revealed that the government would leverage technology to digitise grazing routes and animal identification systems to curb cattle rustling and enhance livestock management.
He said, “Already, we have digitised the cattle routes in this country. We have digitised available dams and grazing reserves. So, at the click of a button, we are leveraging technology to ensure that we can see whatever is happening in all the grazing reserves nationwide.”
He further revealed that the government had taken significant steps in mapping out all grazing reserves nationwide. A total of 417 reserves, both gazetted and non-gazetted, covering over five million hectares of land, have been identified.
Maiha said these reserves would be equipped with the necessary infrastructure, including feed and fodder, water resources, veterinary clinics, schools for herders’ families, and other amenities. Good thinking! Some agriculture and livestock stakeholders have welcomed the initiative, saying it would enhance livestock industry management, security and infrastructure as well as engender peace and national stability not only in the farming communities but also the country as a whole. The method will be more sustainable and economically productive, unlike open grazing, which often leads to conflicts between herders and farmers; ranching confines livestock to a controlled environment, reducing clashes and improving community safety.
Given the mindless killings resulting from the activities of herders, ranching is the only way out. Modern animal husbandry has gone beyond moving livestock on foot from one part of the country to another. This practice belonged to the pre-colonial era. Grazing routes mapped out for such movements have since vanished due to rapid urbanisation. Moving cattle by rail has also become history following the collapse of the railway transportation system.
The Ministry of Livestock Development should drive this process with all the necessary zeal. It should cash in on the willingness of most states to embrace the initiative unlike the resistance to the RUGA that was viewed with suspicion right from the beginning.
There is no doubt that ranching will be the game changer in our drive to achieve food sufficiency and affordability. However, this can only be achieved if farmers are able to return to the fields and carry out their activities without let or hindrance. What is more, the agro ranger personnel can be beefed up, fully equipped and deployed to secure the various ranches to guarantee safety from the ubiquitous cattle rustlers who might find such designated locations as sitting targets.