FULANI LEADERS SEEK PILOT RANCHES AND 30% AGRICULTURE BUDGET ALLOCATION FOR LIVESTOCK MINISTRY

Coalition of over 30 pastoralist organizations calls on President Tinubu and National Assembly to fund ₦30 trillion livestock economy, protect grazing reserves, and address unrecorded attacks

A coalition of Fulani pastoralist leaders under the umbrella of the Confederation of Pastoralists has urged President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to allocate at least 30 per cent of Nigeria’s national agricultural budget to the newly established Federal Ministry of Livestock Development.

The group also demanded the immediate establishment of pilot modern ranches and the formal gazetting of existing grazing reserves across the country to unlock the potential of Nigeria’s estimated ₦30 trillion livestock sector. Speaking on behalf of the coalition, pastoralist representatives highlighted that over a decade of farmer-herder conflicts has claimed more than 20,000 lives, emphasizing that security enforcement alone cannot resolve the crisis without deliberate financial investment and modern infrastructure.

Addressing ongoing security challenges in pastoral communities, the leaders lamented that numerous attacks on settlements, resulting in the destruction of Rugas, loss of lives, and cattle rustling, frequently go unreported and uncompensated. They called on the Federal Government to implement holistic policy interventions, end ethnic profiling, protect pastoralist livelihoods, and integrate modern livestock management practices into national agricultural planning.