‘Herders deserve FG’s attention, subsidy’

The Adamawa State Commissioner for Livestock Production, Isah Salihu, has urged the Federal Government to institute subsidy regime for cattle breeding in the country.

The commissioner who made the appeal during an interview with Daily Trust in Yola, blamed government for failing to support the production of milk and meat to satisfy the protein need of millions of Nigerians even when crop farming was widely subsidized.

He said, “The Federal Government has not made any significant effort to intervene in the livestock sector. For instance, with the crop aspect of agriculture, every commodity you know: rice, maize, cocoa, rubber has research centres. All these get interventions. Government is intervening in input supply like seeds, fertilizers and tractors. What about the cattle?”

Salihu said the neglect of earmarked grazing reserves and cattle routs across the country allowed encroachment by farming communities, forcing herders to wander around.

“We know this (moving around with cattle) is a long time cultural practice, passed from generation to generation. What they are looking for is grasses and water. If they can get it where they stay, they won’t go any further,” he asserted.

Affirming the commitment of the present administration in Adamawa to the livestock sector, the commissioner said the state had adequate manpower to manage grazing reserves with 62 veterinary doctors and 150 veterinary scientists or workers already on its payroll.