The Ondo State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, has said that the newly adopted system of animal husbandry in the state called Feedlots Operational System would eradicate the incessant clashes between farmers and herdsmen.
The governor recently signed into law, the anti-open grazing bill, banning the movement of cattle from one place to the other in the state. To this end, the state government had adopted the Feedlots Operational System, which according to it was more profitable than open grazing.
The governor stated this at the closing ceremony of a five-day training programme on the feedlots system, held in Akure, the state capital, over the weekend.
The programme was organised by the Ondo State Government in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization and no fewer than 150 Fulani herdsmen were trained on the new system in the programme.
Represented by the state Head of Service, Mr John Adeyemi, the governor, explained that moving cattle from place to another was primitive and less profitable, saying the other herders must embrace the new system.
According to the governor, the future of the country depended on agriculture, hence the need for the participants to utilise the opportunities that abound in the entire value chain of agriculture.
He said, “It is another milestone geared towards creating jobs, ensuring food security and promoting peaceful coexistence among inhabitants of the state via eradication of farmers/herders clashes.
“It is an indisputable fact that the culture of moving large herds of cattle from one part of the country to the other is archaic and has in recent years been enormously unbeneficial especially as it has become a threat to national security, cohesion and food security.
“The way forward, it is with sense of pride that I say my administration thought it expedient to revamp and reintroduce ranching with support and collaboration with Food and Agriculture Organisation.
“Feedlot Operational System is a variant of ranching where our Iivestock are being confined so as to militate against the myriads of problems associated with open grazing of cattle.”
In his own remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the govenor on Ondo State Agricbusiness Empowerment Centre, Mr Akin Olotu, urged the participants to embrace the feedlots system of rearing animals as it would improve productivity and profit for the pastoralists.
He stated, “You will agree with me the open grazing has become problematic in the country and people are complaining. Herders are Nigerians,they can move around,and farmers are equally Nigerians entitled to farm and we have to put and end to the conflict.
“We have discovered that what is the way to out? and we noticed that these people are not being trained or being exposed to modern ways of doing it and we expect their (Miyetti Allah) national association to champion a course like this across the country
“This is why we are working with Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria in the state, they are not our enemies, we are friends, this is the method of doing it and we are partnering with FAO in different languages.”
