Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom says implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan, NLTP, in Benue will adhere strictly to the state’s Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017.
The Governor stated this in Makurdi during the launch of the NLTP and commencement of training on the programme in the state.
Ortom said the Plan would be implemented according to peculiarities of Benue State, stressing that focus would be on livestock such as pigs, goats, poultry, sheep and cows.
He explained that Benue decided to domesticate the National Livestock Transformation Plan when stakeholders were convinced that the state would be free to own and implement the programme.
Governor Ortom encouraged Benue households to venture into animal husbandry in addition to crop farming with ranching as the driving method.
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He reaffirmed the commitment of his administration to full implementation of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, saying that no part of the state would be allocated for grazing reserves or RUGA settlements.
Governor Ortom commended the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agriculture in the office of the Vice President, Dr. Andrew Kwasari for his contributions to the NLTP initiative, assuring him of greater collaboration.
He however, appealled to the Federal Government to fulfil its promise of ensuring the return of Internally Displaced Persons,, IDPs, to their ancestral homes.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Development Cooperation, Sustainable Development Goals and NEPAD, Mrs. Magdalyne Dura had earlier thanked stakeholders present and other Benue people for their various contributions to the NLTP domestication process.
Representatives of the Tor Tiv and Ochi ‘Doma, civil society organisations and the academia supported implementation of the programme, expressing the hope that reservations raised by people of the state would be addressed.
