Fulani Leaders Seek Ranches, 30% of Agricultural Budget for Livestock Ministry

Fulani pastoralist leaders have called on President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to allocate at least 30 per cent of Nigeria’s agricultural budget to the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development and establish pilot ranches across the country’s six geopolitical zones.

The leaders, operating under the Confederation of Pastoralist Non-Governmental Organisations (CONPA), also urged the Federal Government to formally gazette and protect 417 grazing reserves nationwide, alongside developing fodder production to improve livestock management.

The General Secretary of the Kautal Pulaku Fulbe Association of Nigeria, Abdullahi Ardo, made the demands on Sunday in Abuja during an international press conference on behalf of the coalition.

Ardo commended Tinubu for establishing the Ministry of Livestock Development in 2024, describing the decision as a significant step towards addressing longstanding concerns of pastoralist communities. However, he said the ministry remained inadequately funded and lacked a clear operational framework to achieve its objectives.

He urged the government to ensure that the ministry’s programmes reached communities and delivered practical support to livestock farmers.

The leaders described Nigeria’s livestock sector as an economy worth approximately ₦30 trillion, arguing that greater investment was needed to modernise production, improve infrastructure and reduce recurring conflicts between farmers and herders.

They called for the establishment of pilot ranches and fodder-production facilities in each geopolitical zone, saying such measures could improve livestock productivity and help address challenges associated with traditional pastoral practices.

The coalition also expressed concern over what it described as the killing of hundreds of pastoralists in recent months in Plateau, Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara and other parts of the country.

It alleged that women, children and older people had been among the victims, while cattle had been killed or rustled and settlements destroyed. The leaders called for independent investigations into the reported attacks and urged authorities to ensure that affected communities received justice and assistance.

They asked the Federal Government to direct the National Emergency Management Agency and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons to provide relief materials to displaced pastoralists.

The group also appealed for stronger security measures to protect pastoralist communities, stressing that criminal responsibility should be determined by individual actions rather than ethnicity.

To address the broader conflict, the leaders urged Tinubu to convene a national dialogue involving pastoralist associations, farmers’ groups, traditional rulers, religious organisations, state governments and security agencies.

They proposed that the dialogue focus on justice, compensation, reconciliation and a practical framework for peaceful coexistence between farming and herding communities.

The coalition also called on pastoralist leaders and their communities to respect farmers’ rights and property, prevent livestock from entering cultivated farmland, cooperate with lawful security investigations and reject violence, kidnapping and cattle rustling.

It said sustained cooperation among federal and state governments, traditional institutions, farmers, pastoralists and development partners was necessary to improve security, strengthen the livestock sector and promote peaceful coexistence across Nigeria.