Taiwo Hassan 
I n a bid to resolve the farmer-herdermen conflict and enhance food production, the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has urged the Federal Government to establish commercial ranches across the country where herders would graze their cattle and pay rents for the services received from the ranches. The farmers’ body stated that it was time government stopped the movement of cattle from one location to the other, leading to losses of crops and clashes in many villages.
They called for a bill that will ban open grazing, stressing that this woll not only tackle cases of farmers and herders clashes in various communities but also lead to a drop in food prices. The South-West Chairman, AFAN, Dr. Femi Oke, who made this known in an interview, said that ranches should be commercialised and that this should be given speedy attention by the government. He said: “I was one of the speakers during the recent World Food Safety Day in Lagos and it was raised that open grazing should be stopped because those people moving around with these cattle destroy many things.
So it is not right. “And if the government can develop a conducive environment by having some ranches where these people can easily go to, pay rent, and graze their cattle, it will be better, and this may lead to a reduction in the prices of things in that axis. “This will be better instead of moving cattle around and destroying crops, which people have invested in. So I am in support of the government opening up ranches, but it should be commercialised. People can rent it or the state governments should monitor it.”
Recall that on June 5, 2024, tension ran high as the bill to ban open grazing successfully passed its second reading in the Senate. The report stated that the legislative session was marked by heated debates and strong emotions, reflecting the contentious nature of the proposed law. If enacted, the bill will finally prohibit open grazing nationwide, aiming to resolve longstanding conflicts between herders and farmers. The bill, sponsored by Senator Titus Zam, representing Benue North West, outlines specific regulations for the establishment and management of ranches, promoting best practices and mitigating disputes between herders and farmers.
Explaining the general principles of the bill, Zam canvassed the need for the proposed commission to manage, regulate, and preserve ranches across the country. “The proposed National Animal Husbandry and Ranches Commission is for management, preservation, and control of ranches throughout Nigeria,” the Senator had stated. The bill, however, met stiff opposition from Senator Danjuma Goje from Gombe and his counterpart from Kebbi, Adamu Aliero.
Both lawmakers and former governors argued that cattle rearing and ranching activities were more in the North than in other parts of the country, reasoning that lawmaking should be for the entire country and not for a section. The South-West AFAN chairman also commented on the high cost of food items in Nigeria, as he explained that pest infestation, among other factors, was the reason for this. “The agric minister talked about it recently and I should not denounce what he said, though we discovered that there are pests that have destroyed many farms. This is why we are saying farmers should be subsidised.
“A price commodities board should be created, and when we have a crisis as farmers, the government can come to our aid and this will support us in the business. “Most of the funds we are using in our businesses were accessed from banks as loans. So how do you cope if you can’t service these loans and there is no aid from the government? How do you cope?” Oke stated. The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, on May 28, 2024, attributed the high cost of tomatoes and some vegetables to high pest infestation of the crops.
