The Kano State government has set aside five locations within forests in the state, to serve as grazing reserves, as part of efforts to address the recurring clashes between herdsmen and farmers.
The state governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje stated this on Tuesday in Kano while receiving the newly elected officials of the state chapter of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, MACBAN, who visited him at the Government House.
He said the government decided to settle the herdsmen in model locations to facilitate modern cattle breeding, which is more profit yielding, noting that it is no longer safe and economically rewarding for herdsmen to wander from the Northern part of the country to other areas in search for pasture.
“In those days, it was quite easy for one to move about a herd of about 20 – 50 cattle from home to areas near streams to allow the animals to feed. Nowadays, people, obviously from outside the country move about with about 500 – 1, 000 cattle in search of pasture, leading to clashes with farmers”, he lamented.
The governor, therefore, promised that the state government would provide boreholes, pasture and other facilities in the proposed reserves to change the nomadic and seemingly disadvantageous lifestyle of the herdsmen.
To help in transforming the living condition of the herdsmen, Governor Ganduje recalled that 60 Fulani youth were sponsored by the government for training in artificial insemination, in Turkey, to improve the value chains of beef and dairy, in line with international best practices.
He tasked the new officials of the state branch of MACBAN to network with other Fulani NGOs like Tabital Fulaaku, assist the government to obtain data on indigenous herdsman and to collaborate with the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Nomadic Education, to make life better for their members.
In their separate remarks, the chairman of the association, Alhaji Husaini Umar Ganduje, and the secretary, Zubairu Imam thanked the government for establishing a model settlement for herdsmen in Kiru local government area and requested it to give priority attention to the issue of grazing reserves for the herdsmen and mobility for the association.
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