Reps want modern cattle-rearing settlements for herders
Members of the House of Representatives have called on the federal government to established cattle-rearing settlements equipped with modern infrastructure for the herders across the country to ameliorate recurring clashes with farmers.
They said such settlements should be furnished with grazing reserves, residential accommodation, health and educational infrastructure as a way of aligning Nigerian cattlerearing with modern practice.
The lawmakers’ position followed a motion on the incessant clashes between herders, farmers and the host communities in Nigeria, sponsored by Rep Wale Raji (APC, Lagos).
The House also urged the agriculture ministry to spearhead the registration of all herders in the country so as to ascertain their number that would guide effective policies in the future.
“The development has now assumed a very dangerous dimension with the recent invasion of the farmland of Chief Olu Falae resulting in the Yoruba Council of Elders condemning the development in strong terms with pronouncement capable of threatening the peace and unity of the country,” Rep Raji told the House.
He said several
factors including urbanisation, population growth, deforestation were responsible for the depletion of traditional grazing land and nomadic paths.
Therefore, he explained, since “traditional cattlerearing is discouraged and modern method is embraced with the establishment of such settlements, communal conflicts and incessant clashes will be significantly reduced, if not eliminated.”