Benue Govt rejects federal ranching plan, says land not for herders

Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has rejected any plan to allocate land in the state to pastoralists for ranching without the consent of the state government and affected communities.

Alia stated this on Tuesday during a town hall meeting with stakeholders from the Sankera bloc, comprising Katsina-Ala, Ukum and Logo Local Government Areas.

The governor’s position comes amid renewed debate over the Federal Government’s National Ranching Policy, under which Benue was listed as one of the pilot locations for the establishment of livestock facilities.

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Alia said his administration would not allow any authority to force the state to surrender land for pastoralist settlements or ranching.

“Nobody will force us to cede even an inch of our land to the pastoralist for any purpose. If that must happen, I can assure you, it will not be this time that I am still the governor of Benue State,” he said.

The governor’s position aligns with that of major sociocultural organisations in Benue, which have also opposed the inclusion of the state in the Federal Government’s pilot ranching programme without the consent of the state and affected communities.

The Mzough U Tiv, Ochetoha K’Idoma and Omi Ny’Igede, representing the Tiv, Idoma and Igede peoples respectively, had earlier rejected the proposed inclusion of Benue in the National Ranching Programme.

The groups said they were not opposed to commercially viable ranching but rejected any attempt to establish permanent pastoral settlements on Benue land without consultation and consent.

They also maintained that any livestock development initiative in the state must comply with the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017.

The controversy followed the announcement by the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, on August 11 that Benue was among six locations selected for the pilot implementation of the National Ranching Policy.

The other selected locations are Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Adamawa and the Federal Capital Territory.

The debate over the ranching programme comes against the backdrop of longstanding tensions between farming communities and pastoralists in parts of Benue.

While proponents of ranching have presented it as a strategy for modernising livestock production and reducing open grazing-related conflicts, opposition in Benue has centred on land ownership, community consent and concerns over the establishment of permanent pastoral settlements.

Governor Alia’s latest position therefore reinforces the state government’s insistence that any ranching or livestock development initiative involving Benue land must receive the approval of the state and relevant communities.