Open grazing no longer sustainable, say Northern governors

THE Northern Governors Forum (NGF) has reaffirmed the popular opinion that the practice of open grazing is no longer sustainable.

Chairman, Dr Simon Lalong, while speaking at the 7th annual Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Lecture in Kaduna, yesterday, said the region has adopted the National Livestock Transformation Programme to address the problems associated with the practice of open grazing.

Lalong, who is Plateau State Governor, however, called on the Federal Government to release funds to willing states to start.

He noted that some states have already begun the process of ending open grazing in their states.

He said: “Kaduna has a ranch with DANO milk as a pilot; Plateau has sent a Bill on Ranching to the State Assembly, Zamfara, Kano, Taraba, Niger and Nasarawa have started ranching constructions while Benue has had an anti-grazing law for some years.”

The Northern governors have been at the forefront of pushing for solutions to open grazing, stated Lalong, adding: “Contrary to some mischiefs and insinuation arising from the resolutions by the Southern Governors that the Northern Governors have done nothing about the issue of open grazing, we were actually the first to take a collective decision that the practice of open grazing is no longer sustainable.”

Speaking on the economic implications of the Covid-19 pandemic, he said: “The days of paper qualification are over and if we are to build economic prosperity in the era of Covid-19, then we must encourage our youth to become entrepreneurs and employment creators rather than job seekers.”