The National Economic Council has said Nigeria must stop using the old method of raising animals and move to a modern way.
The council, led by Vice President Kashim Shettima, made this decision during its meeting on Thursday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The meeting came as many people have recently been killed in attacks across states like Plateau, Benue, and Kwara.
Speaking to newsmen after the meeting, Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, said the council stressed that Nigeria must improve the way livestock is managed.
Council emphasised the fact that we cannot continue to live in the past, and we must now work towards modernising livestock production in Nigeria,” Diri said.
He explained that the council believes the way animals are currently raised is one of the main causes of the clashes between farmers and herders in different parts of the country.
Diri also said that the new Ministry of Livestock Development has introduced a plan called the Accelerated Livestock Development and Growth Strategy.
This plan hopes to increase income from the livestock sector to between $70 billion and $90 billion by the year 2035.
Clashes between herders and farmers, especially over land, are common in central Nigeria.
Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, had earlier said that “suspected herdsmen” were behind recent attacks in Ukum and Logo local government areas.
In many cases, the herders are Muslim Fulani, while the farmers are mostly Christian, which sometimes gives the violence in the Middle Belt sometimes take a religious or ethnic twist.
Just this month, over 100 people were killed in Plateau State during two separate attacks by unknown gunmen.
The killings, which saw over 50 people die in just two districts, have made the situation worse in Plateau.
Officials are now trying to control the violence in the area, which has had long-standing ethnic issues.
Authorities in Plateau have called the killings “genocide” and say they were “sponsored by terrorists.”
But some people think the real problem is about land disputes and the government’s failure to properly control rural areas.
A herders’ group has also spoken out against the killings in Plateau but said that farmers have also attacked their members.
In Plateau and other parts of the Middle Belt, like Benue, land is becoming scarce due to climate change and population growth. This has led to deadly fights over who owns or can use the land.
The weak presence of police in these rural areas often leads to more attacks, as people take revenge when violence starts.
