Ranching will soon become a major money spinner in Plateau State, as thousands of fresh graduates have embraced the business, registering to acquire and manage ranches as government moves to subsidize grazing reserve development.
Plateau State Governor, Solomon Lalong disclosed this while speaking with State House Correspondents in Abuja, Thursday after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari
He disclosed that the state has embraced ranching, despite the initial opposition, but some other states however rejected the idea because according to them, they may not be able to provide the land
” I said whether I have land or not we have to provide land for ranching because that I see as solution to the conflicts. In Plateau we have gone far, we have donated land voluntarily, many people donated land for ranching.”
Lalong who debunked clams that ranching is only for Fulani herdsmen, said both federal and state government must provide funds for the development of such grazing reserves while the State is ready to provide land in each of the seventeen local government areas in the state as a way of boosting the business.
” Like I said in Plateau, I said ranching is not only for the Fulani alone, it is everybody’s business. Many youths, thousands of graduates have registered ready to go into that business. It is everybody’s business.
The grazing currently being done in rural areas is carried out by various farmers who maintain different sizes of flocks, including goats, sheep, and even birds, and when fully implemted, the grazing law is expected to affect all the grazers.
“tell me who in Plateau who is not into open grazing. Seventeen local government we are all into open grazing. Is either you are grazing cattle, goat, sheep, or even chicken because the law will protect and restrict the movement of the all these animals, there are general livestock.
If you are talking of this thing, we will take a wholistic approach in preparing for implementation. And when you do that with a lot of consultation like we are done in Plateau… when I got back I heard the Fulanis are moving from state to state sensitizing their people on the need to embrace ranching.”
Lalong also appealed to states to assist the federal government to find ways of addressing challenges of farmers/ grazers clashes adding that ” agriculture is not just agriculture now, it is now a means of diversification. And if you have to diversify it is serious business for everyone is not for a tribe.So I said if we have to encourage people to go into ranching I will not use the word anti – grazing”
Lalong recalled that he had counseled Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue against enacting the Anti- open grazing law which came into effect in November last year that has pitched the herdsmen and farmers against themselves.
“To be honest with you I did. I told the governor of Benue when he was doing the law, I said look, why don’t you tread softly, just be careful, take other steps before you start implementation.”
But you see states are different, his own concepts are different and for us on the Plateau is different. I said I will not do the law before implementation. I have not developed the ranching areas so I cannot go and say I put a law, to stop who? If I stop the people what is the alternative”
Lalong noted that peace had returned to Plateau because of the wide consultations which allowed the people to understand and buy into the concepts
” I was at the federal ministry with my agricultural team, commissioner and others, we spent almost five hours because I said they must convince me and explain to me what colony is. So that when I go back just like I did with ranching I will go and tell my people that this is the concept. When I had the briefing with them I was convinced about colony”
” They said the difference between colony and ranches is that one is bigger than the other. You get a very big field, you get investors, demarcate the area, somebody will ranch bees, somebody will ranch goats, somebody will ranch cattle but government will develop the place put grasses, water and anybody who is coming in must pay. And you cannot go and force any land, is voluntary land that government has. For me in Plateau we have two large areas already, that is the concept and my eyes is already going back”
“it is a matter of accommodating interests, you take everybody as your own. In Plateau state I did that because when I came I inherited a protracted crisis in the state and so my first priority was how to handle these crisis and ensure we have peace in Plateau State.
Within three months we were able to achieve peace in Plateau State. Most of the lingering crisis were between farmers and herdsmen in Plateau but today in most arts of the state you will see beautiful relationship between herdsmen and farmers”
At the end of last year something smal happened but I’m not saying it was between herdsmen and farmers, it was as a resulting criminal activities and so we focused on fishing out those criminals. Most of the crisis that happened was not on the farm it was just pockets of people Christians and Muslims killing one another and so we addressed those issues, we are handling it.”
Tony Ailemen, Abuja
