Lets talk rationally about Cattle Colonies

[Yunan]

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In the Beginning
The Minister of Agriculture, Audu Obgeh proposed the setting up of Cattle Colonies to help minimize the incursion of grazing animals into farmlands and the resulting deadly clashes between farmers and headers across the country in recent time. The proposals has proved controversial. Many have kicked against it, some are somewhat unsure. The most interesting ones have dissected and broken down the meaning of Colonies and attached some pretty hilarious/disturbing meaning and conjectures. Behind the politics and posturing is the need to properly understand the proposal because both herders’ and farmers’ lives depends on the solution to this national problem. This makes it necessary to examine the practicability of this potential solution as quickly as possible so that it can, after examination, either be discarded or examined further. There are other potential solution that need quick examination. It is therefore important that farmer’s, researchers, agriculturists etc. join in the conversion to move it from the realm to politics to a clear scientific and pragmatic premise where the stakeholders can examine the issues dispassionately.

What exactly are Cattle Colonies?
By way of contributing to the debate, I sought to find out if “cattle colonies” have been done elsewhere. This is important because it can give us a basis of examining the viability of the proposal, help us avoid trial and error and finally assist in avoiding risks that other countries may have had to contend with. It is assumed that the government expects the cattle colonies to a center or the raising cattle, beef, milk, hides, bones and by products production and sale. Government estimates that the initiative would generate over N1.2 trn annual revenue and create 322,000 direct new jobs.
The only place I could find Cattle Colonies were in Pakistan. A lot of these colonies are located around Karachi. They include the following;
- Landhi Diary Colony
- Al-Momin Dairy Farming Society, Gadap Town
- Nagori Cattle Colony, Super Highway
- Surjani Cattle Colony, New Karachi Town
- Bilal Cattle Colony, Korangi Industrial Area
- Saif Cattle Colony, Gulshan-e-Hadeed.
The largest is the Landhi Diary colony. It was established in 1958. Originally, it occupied an area of 304 hectares holding 15,000 animals giving a density of about 200 square meters per animal. Today it has grown to about 650 Hectares containing about 1,500 farms holding 400,000 animals giving a density of about 16 square meters per animal. The Colony yields a daily volume of 4,000,000 liters of milk and about 7,000 tonnes (7,000,000 kilogrammes) of animal waste, which is a significant problem to handle. Plans are on the way to generate electricity and fertilizer from these wastes.

In Nigeria, news has it that some states (16) have agreed to donate 5000 hectares each (totaling 80,000 hectares or 800,000 square meters) each of which is about seven and a half times the size of the largest colony in the world (Landhi Diary Colony). It is presumed that the Nigerian model will include settlements along with the cattle locations.

Is it acceptable among Stakeholders?
Interestingly, while the FG says it would go ahead with the Cattle Colony concept, key stakehoders have rejected the move; the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) are not keen on that and so are several farmer groups and even state governments.

How do we proceed?
The Colony idea is not going to fly right now, unfortunately. This is because, the issue in Nigeria right now is politically muddled up. All sides are digging in so it is very difficult to articulate a position that many would accept as rational. Secondly, colonies are not widely practiced in the world hence we have no idea how it would pan out here. To get a rational prediction of how well it could work here, politics needs to be removed from the issue. However, the largest producers of beef such as the United States (20%), Brazil (15.4%), European Union (13%), China (11.4%) and India (7%) and even the smaller ones do not use the colony system but the ranch system. To understand how the colony system would work, researchers and stakeholders need to look at the big picture and genuinely see how this can contribute to the growth of Agriculture in Nigeria. If the decision is to go ahead, the fears of all parties must be addressed. To allay the concerns of the Stakeholders, we need to incorporate safeguards that will assuage all sides that their fears would not come to pass.

[MustyJ]

The political angle needs to be considered. People are afraid of a colony that will later manifest as a tribal enclave and wrestle with indigenous people for cultural and political rights. It is very important to consider this. The level of mistrust is high based on past experiences

[Tobi]

Cattle colonies will not work. One, the perception about it is not positive. Two, the people to whom the thing is targeted are not interested. Three, the host communities are not willing. Four, from the OPs posts, what obtains in cattle colonies elsewhere is like a cattle market. Here it's like a permanent abode. Five, the colonies is just like ranching. It means the headsmen will settle permanently. Would it be in someone else's land?

The colony thing is not well thought through.

[bonama]

A writer on Aljazeera has an interesting take on this debate. I cannot but agree with most of what he wrote here so I am bringing it here to help shed some ligt

Nigeria's 'cattle colony' problem


Since the New Year, more than 80 people have been killed in clashes between nomadic herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria's central Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa states. Herders, mostly from the Fulani ethnic group, and farmers often clash over the use of fertile land.

For a very long time, the Nigerian government did not offer a concrete plan to solve the problem, doing little more than giving cliche political sermons, condemning the killings and issuing palliatives.

But after the latest killing spree in early January, the government announced that they have finally found a solution that would end these clashes once and for all: "cattle colonies".

"We have to deal with an urgent problem, cattle rearing and the conflicts between farmers and herdsmen, and actually bring it to a halt … Let us do our own duty by eliminating the conflict by creating cattle colonies," the government's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh said.

The Nigerian public's initial reaction to the announcement was one of disinterest and confusion, as no one seemed to understand what a "cattle colony" was. Eventually, many communities realised that implementing this policy could lead to a disaster and outright rejected it. While to the government it might make sense to allocate land for pastures to cattle herders, to many Nigerians it doesn't.

In their rejection of the policy, some Nigerians resorted to sarcasm. "What is cattle colony? We have been colonised by the colonial masters, and now we will be colonised by cows?" quipped Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Taraba state Yusufu Akirikwen.

So what is the "cattle colony" policy and why are many Nigerians rejecting it?

Why is there a conflict between farmers and herders?
Competition for land is fierce in Nigeria, and originally this had nothing to do with farmers or herders. In Nigeria's south, land ownership is a sign of wealth, prosperity and power. A man's possession of land can also be a measure of his authority. This perception is strong in rural communities, and so, fights and aggression over land acquisition have become common.

Now, cattle herders have introduced a new dimension to the issue. Over the past few decades, three parallel processes have put a huge strain on Nigeria's fertile land.

First, the population of Nigeria has doubled in the past decade and a half and will double again by the year 2050; this has increased the demand for agricultural products.

Second, the expansion of urban centres to accommodate internal migration and population growth has taken up huge swaths of arable land from farmers.

Third, gradual desertification in the north, due to climate change and other factors, has rendered massive tracts of land unusable for agriculture or cattle herding; currently, 11 out of 19 states in the north are severely threatened by soil erosion.

All this has not only shrunk the amount of land available for farming and pastures but has also pushed cattle herders further south.

In the past, farmers and herders were able to manage disputes, primarily through the community justice system that employs dialogue and small peace talks in village squares.

But that inter-community conflict resolution process no longer works because grievances have increased in number and dimension. Individual resentment transformed over time into large-scale violence. The issue eventually assumed an ethnic dimension and has been presented as a problem between the north and the south.

It is important here to point out that land disputes happen all over the country and are not necessarily always related to cattle-herding. For instance, in July 2017, clashes between two communities over land in River state - Nigeria's oil-producing delta - left close to 150 people dead and thousands displaced.

What is the 'cattle colony' policy?


According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the "cattle colony" policy is going to solve the ongoing problems between herdsmen and farmers by designating vast tracts of lands in each state as herding grounds.

Herdsmen will use these designated herding grounds, or "cattle colonies" to feed their livestock, and as a result will not feel the need to disturb the fertile agricultural lands that belong to farming communities.

Of course, the situation is not as simple as the government presents it to be. First of all, the government's proposal does not explain how it will prevent herdsmen from encroaching on farmlands as they move between "cattle colonies". Also, according to the proposal, every state retains the discretion to decline the federal government's call for land donation. In other words, local governments can simply refuse to host a "cattle colony" within their borders.

The government responded to these criticisms by saying that 16 of Nigeria's 36 states had already agreed to host cattle colonies. Yet, in Nigeria, local authorities only have limited control over farmland and indigenous populations, and in the end, local groups can simply refuse to comply with decisions taken by state governments.

Why will the 'cattle colony' policy not work?
Beyond these obvious reasons that are driving the rebellion against the policy, there is also another grievous problem with this policy.

In most communities in Nigeria, the land is fundamentally managed by families and communities, although the government has enacted laws to try to weaken the grip of tradition on land-related issues.

For many, land is sacred and no single person, in most customs, can sell, transfer or use lands without violating societal norms in the process. This spiritual dimension to land in Nigeria sometimes even warrants that certain rituals be involved in land transfer or acquisition. So, ceding land to any person other than a community kinsman, especially in rural communities, requires a careful, long, and relatively sacred process.

The Land Use Act of 1978 that regulates land acquisition, ownership and transfer in Nigeria has not truly replaced these customs because - like most government policies - it failed to reach rural communities in any meaningful way. Sadly, federal law in Nigeria is mostly seen as a collection of "elitist" texts that have little influence on the status-quo on the ground.

Local community leaders from some states that seemingly subscribed to this policy have already warned the state governments to "stay clear of their land". In Kogi state, a community leader, Chief Alhassan Ejike, said the governor "cannot allocate a land that doesn't belong to [him] to foreigners."

In a separate petition, Igala Project - an association of one of Nigeria's largest tribes - warned, "our people, who are largely farmers, are not prepared to host herdsmen or cattle colony masters in our land."

What should the government do?
The government can explore alternatives other than the "cattle colony" policy, including cattle ranching. Northern states could build ranches for herders, facilitate acquisition of cattle fodder and implement land reclamation projects for desert areas.

This would alleviate migration to the south and limit clashes. Besides, it makes more economic sense with potential job creation and other incentives for middlemen and farmers. It would also calm ethnic tensions and disputes between the south and north.

In the end, whether the government opts for cattle ranching or another solution, it should give up the "cattle colonies" idea. Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari pleading "I ask you in the name of God to accommodate your country men" will not convince the Nigerian people.

The views expressed in this article are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinio ... 45450.html