As conversations deepen around the shift from open grazing to ranching, a non-governmental organisation, Epis Community Development Initiative, has expressed support for the policy, but cautioned that to achieve the desired result, Nigeria must prioritise inclusive dialogue and practical solutions, particularly on the challenges herders would face in the transition process.
 
Though last year, the Federal Government said no policy has been implemented to support the transitioning from open grazing to modern ranching systems, it denies that it has outrightly banned open grazing.
 
Speaking at a two-day seminar held in Abuja, themed: “Feeding the Future: Nordic Expertise Meets Nigeria’s Livestock Ambition,” the founder of the organisation, Olufunke Hassan, explained that ranching offers better agricultural outputs such as milk yield and beef quality.

According to her, “In a ranch, you get better beef and a whole lot more milk. The milk our local breeds produce is far below our national needs.”
 
She added that while laws against open grazing have been passed in some parts of the country, implementation remains a challenge.
   
Hassan, who urged caution on the transitioning from open grazing to ranching, said such adoption might be taken long before it is achieved, owing to the country’s complex mix of cultures and long-standing pastoral traditions.
 
She emphasised the need for herders to be provided with affordable and readily available animal feed, noting that when these are missing, the modern ranching becomes difficult regardless of policy enforcement or land allocation.
 
“If the demand for feed has not been met and you are telling them to pay exorbitant amounts for feed, they will not stop grazing,” She warned.
   
In her address, the Principal Animal Husbandry Officer at the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, Amina Mohammed, commended President Bola Tinubu for establishing the ministry that oversees livestock development in the country, expressing optimism that it would address the challenges in the livestock value chain.
     
She informed the gathering that the ministry has begun repositioning the sector through the implementation of the National Livestock Growth Acceleration Scheme, to boost the sector’s value.
   
Mohammed explained that the ministry is leveraging international partnerships to strengthen productivity and resilience in the sector, citing support from the World Bank through the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (LPRESS).
   
“Through capacity building and support from international organisations like the World Bank, we believe that the contribution of livestock to GDP will significantly improve,” She said.

On the transitioning to ranching, Mohammed acknowledged that open grazing remains a major challenge, but stressed that a transition to ranching must be gradual, given the realities on the ground..