Confusion as Miyetti Allah demands N150bn for ranching, livestock development from FG

The Miyetti Allah, the Fulani socio-cultural group, has asked the federal government to budget the sum of N150bn for the ranching of cows, and the development of the entire livestock farming value chains in Nigeria.

Legit.ng reports that the spokesman for the group, Saleh Alhassan, said on Wednesday, March 25, while featuring on Punch Online interview programme, The Roundtable.

He said that ranching comes with many benefits including lesser risk and loss, adding that herdsmen are willing to rear cattle in a “modernised way.”

Alhassan, however, said the common herder does not have the resources to ranch his cows, adding that the infrastructure for ranching has to be put in place by the government for sedentary cattle rearing to be successfully implemented.

The Miyetti Allah spokesman also said attacks by herders were being exaggerated in the Southern part of the country to score political points.

He said: “This thing is exaggerated; it is not that it is not there but it is exaggerated to score political points and that is the danger of it."

Alhassan criticised FG’s National Livestock Transformation Plan, saying the programme has “technically” been “sabotaged” as the programme has a non-herder as the head.

He said it is not a policy that they have been parroting from RUGA, Livestock, Ranching, adding that they have not implemented anyone.

Asked to proffer a solution to the herdsmen menace, the Miyetti Allah spokesman said for a start, the government can budget N150bn, saying that it is not free money, this investment can be rolled in from 15 to 20 years to develop all the value chains.