Suswam to legislate on cattle movement in Benue State

[Michael Atovigba]

Gov. Gabriel Suswam may have finalized work on an executive bill
restricting movement of cattle in Benue State.
Disclosing this to journalists, his economic adviser Sebastine Agbinda
stated that the bill when it becomes law will stop cattle from roaming
the paths of Benue State but be kept in one place on arriving the s
tate.
Moreover, the governor has put in place a new livestock policy that
will soon be announced such that Benue indigenes will begin to rear
cattle and own ranches.
To Agbinda, this would make the crises of herdsmen and farmers
fighting and killing each other to stop. It will also encourage Benue
indigenes to also own cattle and breed and fatten same on the Benue
soil while the dung of cattle would be collected as organic manure for
the farms.
Agbinda pointed out that cattle domesticated to ranches are usually
fatter than nomadic cattle; and that the bunch of cows that arrived
Benue State for 2013 Christmas and the New Year were unusually lean
having been rushed from the north east owing to the crisis of Boko
Haram in that region.
He pointed out that the Fulani people seem to have vowed that the Tiv
nation will not grow cattle and neither have farms but that farmlands
should become Fulani grazing fields, and this must be resisted.
Said the adviser: "the deaths resulting from the herdsmen/farmers
clashes, are unbecoming. Cattle should be on ranches. 5,000 cattle
can grow on a football field size land. If you want to move cattle in
Benue State, move them on the road. The clashes are killing both
Fulani and Tiv, so it must stop."
"The cows are getting leaner," said Agbinda. "the crisis in north east
has forced herdsmen to head to the middle belt. The Benue community
needs to start rearing cows. We didn't have Tiv oranges, cows, pigs,
etc but have imported all those and are doing well in Tivland. There
is need to settle cattle and feed them with farm produce waste. Their
droppings are used as manure for the farms. Argentina are the greatest
cattle producers but not nomadic. Tiv must know that Fulani don't want
them to produce cows. The nomadic Fulani is a serious challenge to Tiv
farmers, but Tiv must rear cows and their rice chaffs will not be a
waste again.
Suswam's new initiative is to encourage local people to breed cattle.
Benue state is the food capital of the nation so livestock breeding
will be added to it; it encourages manure production. Farm produce
wastes will be given to cattle and all livestock. Tiv people have
capacity to grow cattle. You should produce what you eat, and we can
produce livestock. Such cattle can be fattened. Benue should be a
fattening not a fighting ground."
Post by: Garshagu Atovigba,
For: Publisher, Daily Tigons