•FG takes delivery of 255 tractors, vows to crash food prices in 2025
Members of the Joint Senate and House Committee on Livestock Development have urged the Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Muktar, to leverage his new ministry to address the perennial farmers-herders crises in the country.
The lawmakers told the minister that Nigerians were looking up to the ministry to develop the livestock sector in a way that would address crises between farmers and herders which had led to loss of lives and destruction of property.
They made the call yesterday when the minister appeared before the joint committee to defend the ministry’s budget for the 2025 fiscal year.
A member of the committee and former governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, stressed the urgent need for the ministry to embark on intensive sensitisation and advocacy on the issues of ranching to change the wrong mindsets of Nigerians, adding there are a lot of misconceptions about ranching.
Ningi, while speaking on the strategic importance of the ministry, urged the minister to harness the potential of the livestock sector for the development of the country.
Chairman of the joint committee, Musa Mustapha, in his remarks, said there was a need for the new ministry to focus on addressing issues of value chain development, infrastructure, climate change issues, and women and youth empowerment.
On his part, the co-chair of the joint committee, Wale Raji, emphasised the need for adequate funding for the ministry to enable it to carry out its mandate in line with the aspiration of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Agenda for the sector.
He also stressed the need for more advocacy and sensitisation to enable Nigerians to understand that livestock development is beyond cattle rearing, saying there are other aspects of livestock such as poultry, piggery, sheep and goats production, among others.
Earlier, the minister, in his presentation, informed the committee that the ministry budgeted N10 billion for capital expenditures and N1.8 billion for overheads.
ALSO, the Federal Government, yesterday, disclosed that it has started taking the delivery of 2,000 tractors it ordered from Belazus for distribution to farmers in the country.
Confirming the development, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, said 255 tractors have so far arrived in the country, with more being expected in due course.
He said 85 containers, each carrying three tractors, among other equipment, have started to arrive in the country in batches, disclosing that the government is also focused on crashing the price of food commodities in the country; hence, the adoption of new measures by the authorities to make farming seamless.
The minister, who addressed newsmen during the 2025 maiden edition of ‘Meet the Press,’ organised by the media department of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, disclosed that food prices have also begun to drop due to what he described as “good rainfall, a bumper harvest,” as well as effective government policies.
“The 2024 farming season was very successful, with farmers across the country recording high yields. The government is working to sustain this progress by supporting wheat farming in highland areas like Taraba State and providing modern farming tools to farmers,” Kyari stated.
The minister said cutting-edge technology including the use of drones would also be introduced in the new farming season to boost as well as facilitate food production.
