The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), has said that a cow may cost up to N2 million in Lagos State, if the anti-open grazing bill is passed into law in the state.
Maikudi Usman, MACBAN’s zonal secretary in the South-west, said this on Wednesday, during a one-day public hearing organised by the state House of Assembly on the anti-open grazing bill.
The state house of assembly had earlier sent the bill titled ‘A Bill For A Law To Prohibit Open Cattle Grazing In Lagos State, the Trespass of Cattle Land And For Other Connected Purposes’ to the committee on agriculture after it scaled second reading.
During the public hearing, Usman appealed to the state government for assistance, saying that ranching is more expensive than open grazing.
The Miyyeti Allah official, who agreed that there are some criminally-minded herders, argued that raising a cow in one location could increase the price of a cow.
He also pleaded with the government to subsidise the cost of raising the cattle in one location.
“If cattle are bred in one place, the price could go up to about N2 million each. We agreed with some local chiefs in other states that anyone who wants to rear cows in a location should register and should indicate when he is leaving.
“A Fulani man moves from one place to another to ply his trade, but we have some bad eggs that are causing trouble. The government should allow us to talk to our people that they don’t want our cows to destroy people’s farmland.
“We have met with stakeholders in Ekiti, Ondo and even Oyo states and we reached agreements with them,” Usman was quoted as saying in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the House, Eromosele Ebhomele.
Also, the chairman of Lagos State Butchers Association of Lagos State, Alabi Bamidele Kazeem, advocated for support to cattle breeders, adding that “rearing animals in one location could be expensive”.
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