Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari has presented a letter to the State House of Assembly seeking the review of the state’s 2021 budget.
The Deputy Leader of the House, Alhaji Ibrahim Dikko (APC-Matazu), read the letter during plenary yesterday.
Dikko said the governor was seeking the approval of the House to accommodate the N6.25 billion from the Federal Government in the budget, for the implementation of ranching programme in the state.
President Muhammadu Buhari recently approved the sum of N6.25 billion for ranch development programme in Katsina State.
“I wish to inform you that the Federal Government has approved and released the sum of N6.25 billion as assistance to the state government for the implementation of the ranch development programme.
The House has also called on the state government to construct an earth dam in Shinkafi Ward in Katsina Local Government Area of the state.
The call followed a motion presented by Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar-Albaba, (APC-Katsina).
Abubakar-Albaba said the motion was necessary in order to support the people of the area in irrigation farming and prevent flooding this rainy season.
The House, after series of deliberations by members, adopted the motion, calling on the state government to intervene and construct the dam.
In a related development, the state government has said that the N6.25 billion recently approved for the state by the Federal Government for ranching is inadequate and that the state rather requires over N12.5 billion to successfully execute the project
The Special Adviser to Governor Masari on Livestock Development, Dr Lawal Usman Bagiwa told The Nation in his office in Katsina yesterday that the state required over N12.5 billion for ranching, hence the decision to woo investors to meet up with the shortfall.
He said: “The N6.25 billion for ranching is inadequate. We are targeting N12.5 billion, hence we are turning our attention to woo investors for the shortfall, and we have also reduced the size of pastures development, if not we can expand it.
He described the Rugu Forest as containing 122,000 hectares of land in Kwuka Jangari grazing reserve which cuts across 10 local government areas.
According to him, 10 selected local government areas that are prone to banditry attacks, cattle rustling and other forms of criminality were selected for the commencement of the cattle ranching project in the state.
He said: “Further attachments to be provided to the cattle routes include veterinary clinics and dispensaries, primary schools to be built along the corridors of cattle roots as well as the provision of rehabilitated 33 earth dams and solar-powered boreholes to ensure access to good drinking water’’
“There will be milk collection centres for the herders to hand over the collected milk to investors.
“In the next two years, we plan to limit movements of animals from the North to Southern part of Nigeria; we will restrict the herders and their animals to their locality to graze, attend schools, hospitals and recreate.”
He further disclosed that the 7,000 hectares of land earmarked for ranching are for Jibia, Batsari, Safana, Dandume, Sabwa, Dan Musa, Kankara, Faskari, Bakori and Funtua local government areas.
On other local government areas that were not listed, he assured the ranching project is encompassing and will extend to other areas with capacity building, technical training and support programmes, drug revolving scheme and vaccination.
The Nation recalls that Governor Aminu Bello Masari had, at a recent stakeholders’ workshop described the ranching initiative as part of its restoration agenda in agriculture to stem the confrontations among farmers and herders which often led to the destruction of lives and properties in the state.
