The Northern Governors Forum is currently meeting in Kaduna to discuss the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NTLP) and find a lasting solution to the insecurity bedevilling the region.
The Chairman of the Forum and Plateau state governor, Simon Bako Lalong, on Thursday said livestock management in the country and in particular Northern region has continued to generate discourse, controversy, misinformation and even politicisation.
In his opening remarks at the meeting which commenced at exactly 11:45am today, Governor Lalong, said the governors have made so many attempts at find lasting solutions to the incessant farmer-herder clashes, cattle rustling and associated criminalities such as banditry, kidnapping among others in the region.
“We consequently set up a Committee under the chairmanship of Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina state, to develop a comprehensive regional plan of action that could bring lasting solutions to the lingering crises. At this meeting, we shall receive briefing from this committee and also deliberate on their findings and recommendations.
“At this meeting, we shall also deliberate on the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP), which was commissioned by the National Economic Council (NEC) chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and seeks to support and strengthen the development of market-driven ranches in the livestock ecosystem for improved productivity through breed improvement, pasture production, efficient land and water utilization,” he said.
He added that as a region that holds the comparative advantage in livestock management as an economic and socio-cultural vocation, they need to come up with a common front on how to synergize and draw from the funds available for the programme and ensure that they derive maximum benefits for the people in the region.
He said the governors shall develop strategies on how best to deal with the misinformation about the NLTP which is sometimes confused with the Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) project.
