The Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar, has revealed plans to establish livestock model villages across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to tackle recurring challenges linked to intracity grazing.
Mukhtar disclosed this on Wednesday, adding that the initiative will also involve relocating herds of cattle from urban centers as part of efforts to modernize livestock production and reduce the dangers of open grazing within city environments.
He explained that scarcity of resources, climate change, land-use pressures, and ethnic tensions have driven pastoralists into city spaces, resulting in traffic disruptions, health hazards, sanitation concerns, and environmental degradation. The Minister noted that the lack of infrastructure in the country’s 412 grazing reserves has worsened the problem, forcing herders into urban settlements.
According to him, extensive investigations and data gathering have already been carried out by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. “We have captured the number of families, livestock, species, age distribution, and demographics. This data will form the foundation of our intervention,” he said.
The Minister further revealed that the FCT has four grazing reserves covering 33,000 hectares, and measures are being taken to provide water, veterinary services, and security. “By next week, my team will be in Kawu Grazing Reserve to commence borehole drilling and set up a veterinary clinic. This is not rhetoric, this is delivery under the Renewed Hope Agenda,” he affirmed.
He added that relocating pastoralist families will involve a comprehensive package including schools, healthcare facilities, veterinary clinics, and security, to ensure smooth transition and community acceptance.
“The livestock model villages, once completed, will evolve into economic hubs — driving milk processing, dairy production, leatherworks, feed production, meat processing, and bio-digestion of waste. They will also enable breeding improvements, vaccinations, ear tagging, tracing, and effective data management,” Mukhtar stated.
The Minister assured that the initiative is being developed in collaboration with cattle breeders’ associations, including Miyetti Allah and Kulen Allah, to secure broad stakeholder support.
