The Federal Government has declared open grazing of cattle unsustainable and is moving to end recurring farmers-herders violence by establishing modern ranching settlements in six major conflict zones.
Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, announced the plan on Tuesday after briefing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja.
He said the intervention will focus on Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Adamawa states, plus the Federal Capital Territory, identified as priority flashpoints.
According to Maiha, the government has mapped 417 grazing reserves nationwide and has started a pilot in Plateau State to test a new livestock model that limits cattle movement.
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The shift, he explained, is driven by reality on the ground. Farming expansion, urbanisation and infrastructure projects have wiped out traditional grazing routes.
“A large number of cattle on the move is crisis-prone because the grazing routes have disappeared. Farms, large farms have come up, aggressive urbanisation, demand for land for infrastructure. So many other things have made nomadism not sustainable,” Maiha said.
The new approach replaces movement with in-place resources. The ministry is promoting pasture cultivation around settlements, breed improvement to keep fewer but more productive animals, and commercial fodder for domestic use and export.
Each reserve is envisioned as an economic hub with housing, veterinary clinics, schools, primary healthcare, solar power, earth dams, milk collection centers, modular abattoirs and biodigesters.
Consultations are ongoing with pastoral groups. Maiha said about 34 organisations have been engaged, including a recent meeting with the Miyetti Allah leadership under the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar. Another round is scheduled in two weeks. He noted there has been no resistance so far.
To support tracking and security, the government will roll out radio frequency ear tags for livestock to build a national database and curb rustling.
The ministry, created in July 2024, is also upgrading abattoirs, cold-chain vaccine storage and veterinary services, with seven model clinics already built and plans for one in every state. Maiha said Tinubu described the livestock value chain as “fantastic” and urged Nigerians to tap opportunities.
