Three states are ready for the take off of the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) of National Economic Council (NEC), Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State has said.
Umahi, who is the Chairman of NEC’s Sub-committee on Farmer-Herder Crisis, spoke after the committee’s meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday. Prof. Osinbanjo is the chairman of NEC.
Umahi said NLTP was for willing states which he listed as Adamawa, Plateau and Nasarawa.
According to the governor, the sub-committee has a mandate of resolving the lingering conflicts between farmers and herders.
“It is just a furtherance of our committee’s programmes towards the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) of NEC.
“And so, we are getting there, we have penciled down three states that we have evaluated; Adamawa, Plateau and Nasarawa; and so, we are going ahead to ask them to submit their programmes and costing for implementation.
“We have a clear mandate; one is that this programme is going to resolve to a very large extent, the farmers-herders conflict.
“And so, if we reserve some of the grazing reserves especially in the North for willing states, we are going to see these conflicts come down; and then also a modern way of cow rearing for greater benefit.’’
Umahi, said that in the three states, the sub-committee had spoken to all the people inside the grazing reserves; the traditional rulers, the district heads and the population within that location.He said they were willing to go with NLTP.
“In this programme, you are going to have some farmers within the grazing reserves doing their farming and of course, the herders doing theirs; of course there is going to be a demarcation. The emphasis still remains that it is for willing states; even if you have grazing reserve like some grazing reserves in the North and the state is not willing to key into it, it not compulsory.’’
He said Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was rising because of improved rice production.