ABIA STATE GOVERNMENT WARNS AGAINST OPEN GRAZING

The Abia State government has warned against the menace of moving cattle openly along the roads and the trend of open grazing which is practiced in the state.

The Chief Veterinary Officer and Director of Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance, Abia State Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Nwokedi Ọnụ gave the warning on Tuesday in Umuahia while speaking to newsmen in his Office.

The veterinary expert condemned in strong terms the wanton destruction of farms and crops by the cattle which has resulted in frequent herders farmers clashes in different parts of the state and the county at large.

“It is an unfunny situation because people who have these cattle supposed to hedge them in or in ranches or an enclosure where they have pastures to manage or where you can cut forage or feedlog and bring to them. Or you may decide to feed them with grains. But here we have a lot of grasses, you can feed them with grasses.”

“Unfortunately, you see them roaming about, destroying what people have planted in their farms and this is not a very good thing to do.”

“Here in the ministry of agriculture, we have had a lot of farmers and herders dispute, where cows destroy people’s crops.”

“Now that the government is talking about food security, food to feed the masses, the cost of food is very high now. How can we achieve it if the crops are destroyed by cows?”

Dr Ọnụ also pointed out the health risk factor of open grazing, saying it endangers public health.

“It poses a lot of risk to human health because as they are moving about, most of them urinate or defecate along the road, and when it rains, the run offs carry them to streams where people fetch water. Sometimes they go to the streams and rivers to drink water and they urinate or defecate into the water which some other people from down the river may fetch and drink.”

“Apart from health issues, it has environmental issues, because the hooves loosen the soil, making it prone to soil erosion and when the top soil is eroded, the soil nutrients go with it.”

On the issue of the RUGA, proposed by the administration of Former President president Mohammadu Buhari, Dr Ọnụ questioned the motive behind the idea. While he acknowledged that RUGA would have gone a long way in solving the problem of open grazing, said the proposal would have led the land acquisition by foreigners.

He recalled that delegates from the federal government visited his office then for the RUGA initiative, that they suggested that the initiative be owned and operated by the state government while the federal government provided the funding, which was outrightly rejected by the then federal government.

On his part, Mr Victor Nnaemeka Obasi, who is a Director in the Department of Livestock and Fisheries, condemned open grazing with all vehemence he could muster. He is of the opinion that the animal should be confined to a particular place where forage would be brought to them.

In his words, “You can see the conflict the farmers and herders are facing because it is open grazing. Assuming these animals are confined, you will find a situation where the farmers and herders will live amicably.”

“But when you allow open grazing, it then means that anything can happen. The animals can go at will to people’s farms to destroy crops. And you know it has multiplying effect.”

“Think of the investment that the owner of the farm has put in the farm, and when you go there and see that everything you put there has been eaten up by cows. The person may even die because you have invested everything you have in the farm.”

He also appreciated the RUGA initiative but faulted what would have been the outcome of the implementation which he said would have amounted to land grabbing.