"No Cattle Will Roam About In 24 Months" – Buhari «

President Muhammadu Buhari has promised that in the
next 18 to 24 months, no cattle will roam about in Nigeria.
The President said that the Federal Government had
mapped out grazing areas where herdsmen would be
restricted to, adding that grass seeds would be imported
and planted in the grazing reserves.
The President, who was represented by the Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh,
made the promise in Abuja on Tuesday while delivering the
keynote address during the 19th Regional Implementation
Forum for International Fund for Agricultural Development-
supported projects in West and Central Africa.
Buhari stated that it was high time cattle breeders
desisted from taking their livestock to graze on farmlands,
stressing that this had led to clashes that claimed many
lives.
He said, “This is why our government has decided that
grasslands in large portions around the country will be
created and improved grass seeds will be brought in from
other countries, which have gone ahead of us to create the
desired grass that will make it unnecessary for the
herdsmen to roam about. So in the in next 18 to 24
months, we assure you that no cattle will roam about in
this country.”
The President added, “We need young women and men who
can invest in cattle rearing and milk production as this
must not be left only to the Fulani herdsmen. Feeding
cattle has been an issue, which we need to address. We
have given support to rice, wheat and cassava farmers;
also to cocoa producers.”
Buhari urged participating governments at the function to
invest in youths, noting that the growing rural-urban drift
had resulted in massive depletion of youth population in
the rural areas.
“One of the ways to address this urgent concern is to
accord priority attention to the transformation of
agricultural production in the rural areas, with the youth
population as the agent of change and transformation,” he
added.
In his address, the President of IFAD, Dr. Kanayo Nwanze,
urged participating countries at the forum to create
opportunities for African youths, particularly in agriculture.
He said Africa spends $35 billion annually importing food,
whereas the continent has over 200 million youths whose
skills could be gainfully harnessed in the agricultural
sector.
Nwanze said, “By importing food, it means we are paying
people to grow food and thereby increasing poverty in our
countries in Africa. This must stop and we must develop
our people in other to feed ourselves with what we grow as
food.”