By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
Oyo State Commissioner for Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, Mr. Oyewole Oyewumi has disclosed that the proposed creation of cattle colony by the federal government is unknown to the state government.
Speaking on the efforts by the Oyo state government at preventing farmers/herdsmen clashes in the stare, the Commissioner declared that as far as Oyo State Government was concerned what it knows and operates as a matter of policy till date for every form of cattle rearing and development is ranching.
Mr Abimbola vowed that the state government was not ready to tolerate any form of cattle rearing that allows herds to roam around and infringe on other peoples’ rights.Again, as a policy of the Oyo State Government today, we encouraged ranching over any other methods of cattle production and development. We have heard talks about grazing reserves and recently about what they called cattle colonies. They sound very strange to us, especially in the issue of cattle colonies and I think the idea is being muted by the Federal Government, so we await further explanations as to what cattle colony is.”he said.
The Commissioner added “but the underlining thing for us as a State is that having our cattle in an enclosed area for control purposes is very critical to us. So if the cattle colonies envisage a situation where the colony consists of an enclosure, no matter how large, where the movement of cattle are controlled, we may look at it but if it had to be an open area where cattle will be allowed to just walk around in a free range, I don’t think the Oyo State Government will be able to accommodate that. That is our position and that is where we stand on the matter.”
He stressed that Oyo state government through the Ministry of Agriculture currently sponsore a bill before the state House of Assembly towards regulating the practice of cattle development in the state as “ranching is the only form of cattle rearing that is acceptable and known to the government.”
Emphasizing that, Oyo state government will not at anytime accept or allow cattles to rove openly and thereby encroaching on other people’s rights, property or business interest, he said the security of lives and property remains the responsibility of the government which the government will not fail to provide for all her residents.
“We are also looking at one or two areas where the state can also support and ensure that one activity does not necessarily encroach on the other because that has been the bane of this crisis The regular consultation is still ongoing. We stepped it up beyond the local government and the state security council, we had called meetings regularly of all stakeholders, a kind of general meeting where all the leaders of herdsmen in the state meet with leaders of farmers, all local government chairmen, all directors of agriculture across all the local governments, representative of the ministry of agriculture and that of the ministry of local government, to assemble for a kind of consultative forum to exchange ideas on what is going on.”
The Commissioner stressed further that Oyo state government “at that point does more of listening at the meeting rather than just issuing out directives. Again, it is all to build confidence and trust between the groups because at the end of the day it is our responsibility as a state to protect and provide security for all our citizens.”
