Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has on Tuesday inaugurated the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP), at Gongoshi Grazing Reserve in Mayo-Belwa Local Government Area, Adamawa State.
The NLTP project is designed to support the development of the Nigerian Livestock sector and would be piloting with seven states namely; Adamawa, Kaduna, Plateau, Benue, Taraba, Zamfara and Nasarawa.
Speaking, Osinbajo explained that the project is not part of the RUGA scheme but a Federal Government initiative in collaboration with State, farmers, pastoralists and private investors, also it will run from 2019-2028 under the auspices of the National Economic Council (NEC).
He said the NLTP project is aimed at providing a modernised meat and dairy industry as well as crop farming. Also, each participating state can determine the type of model it wants to deploy for the project.
The Vice President said “In this plan, the State Government or private investors provide the land, the federal government does not and will not take any land from a State or local government.
“Any participating state will provide the land and its own contribution to the project.
The federal government merely supports.
“It is a plan that hopes to birth tailor-made ranches where cattle are bred, and meat and dairy products are produced using modern livestock breeding and dairy methods.
“This solves the problem of cattle grazing into and destroying farmlands.
It ensures a practical response to the pressures on water and pasture by forces of climate change,” Osinbajo added.
Also speaking, Ahmadu Fintiri, Adamawa State Governor said the inauguration and introduction of the project is a welcomed development, as it would promote peaceful coexistence in the state as well as provide jobs and curb the lingering Farmers/Herders crisis bedevilling the state.
