FG Identifies 470 Grazing Reserves to End Open Grazing, Boost Dairy Production

The Federal Government says it has identified 470 gazetted and legally protected grazing reserves for the rehabilitation and resettlement of pastoralists, as part of a plan to end open grazing in cities like Abuja and Lagos.

Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, disclosed this Tuesday on Arise News while discussing the National Dairy Policy Framework and reforms for Nigeria’s livestock sector.

Maiha said relocating herders to the designated reserves will make disease surveillance, breed improvement, and animal health management easier. He confirmed that open grazing is no longer sustainable, noting that long-distance cattle movement is a major reason for low productivity and Nigeria’s inability to meet domestic dairy demand.

“We are sensitising pastoralists to adopt a sedentary lifestyle. Once they settle in designated reserves, all the interventions required to improve productivity become easier to implement,” he said.

The government is also introducing jaw-tagging of cattle. Maiha explained that once a cow leaves its designated boundary, an alarm will trigger, showing it has strayed or been stolen, so it can be returned immediately

On milk production, the minister said Nigerian cows currently produce only 1.2 to 2 litres per day on average, compared to up to 30 litres in countries like Kenya. He blamed poor genetics, inadequate feeding, and weak disease control.

Despite Nigeria’s estimated 270 million ruminants, Maiha said the country has not modernised livestock genetics like other African nations. “While every other thing in our national space has changed, we have not been able to transform our livestock by introducing new genetics or selecting based on performance traits,” he said. With better genetics, yields could rise from 2 litres to 15, 20, 30, or even 50 litres per cow daily