Roaming of cattle in Nigeria to end in 24 months - Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday promised to end the roaming of cattle across the country within the next 18 to 24 months.

The President said that special grass seeds would be imported from Brazil to create enough grassland in the country for cows to feed.

Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, spoke in Abuja at the 19th Regional Implementation Forum for International Fund for Agricultural Development-supported projects in West and Central Africa.

Buhari urged cattle breeders to desist from the habit of taking their livestock to graze on farmlands belonging to farmers.

This, he said, had resulted in various clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farm owners which have claimed hundreds of 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.

He said: “While our ageing farming population is attuned to the traditional methods of agriculture production, the increasing complex agricultural value chains, grades and standards that are integral to agricultural transformation today require the emplacement of a new generation of farmers, favorably disposed to innovation and risk taking.”

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 urged government to invest massively on rural farmers in order to make the area economically viable.

“We need the youth of today to be the farmers tomorrow but for that to happen, we must transform our rural areas. The benefits of rural transformation reach far and wide. All of us stand to again when there is a flow of goods, services and money between rural and urban areas.

“By investing in rural transformation we can create a range of opportunities for young people in our rural areas so that they are not compelled to migrate to urban centres and big cities where they too often fall prey to divisive rhetoric and extremism,” he said.