Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa, has called on the Federal Government to reconsider its approach to ranching and make private-sector ranching the centrepiece of its livestock development policy.
Aondoakaa made the recommendation during an interview on ARISE TV on Monday, arguing that government should create the conditions for viable ranching rather than directly establishing ranches for individual livestock owners.
According to the former AGF, the government’s responsibility should include improving cattle breeds, developing necessary infrastructure and making affordable financing available to livestock farmers.
He suggested that the government could adopt a model similar to its interventions in the poultry and rice sectors, where policies and support systems encourage private investors to establish and operate businesses.
Aondoakaa said improving the quality of cattle should be a major priority, particularly through crossbreeding aimed at increasing milk production and making livestock farming more commercially sustainable.
He also advocated loans at single-digit interest rates for livestock farmers, saying access to affordable credit would enable them to establish ranches and repay the facilities from proceeds generated through their businesses.
The former minister questioned the rationale behind government establishing ranches on behalf of private livestock owners.
He asked whether the Federal Government would similarly establish cocoa farms for farmers in the South-West or yam farms for farmers in Benue State.
For him, ranching should be treated as an economic activity in which private individuals and businesses have ownership and investment incentives.
“It’s a welcome policy but it should be private-sector driven, not public-sector driven,” Aondoakaa said.
He warned that placing government directly at the centre of ranch development could generate additional suspicion in communities already affected by tensions between farmers and herders.
Aondoakaa, however, said private-sector ranching could create economic opportunities for both livestock owners and crop farmers.
He explained that crop farmers could produce specialised grasses and other livestock feed, while ranch operators could provide a dependable market for those agricultural products.
Such a relationship, he argued, could encourage cooperation between the two groups while creating additional income opportunities and reducing the mistrust that often fuels farmer-herder disputes.
The former AGF maintained that government involvement should therefore focus on creating an enabling environment rather than controlling ranch ownership.
He said improved cattle breeds, infrastructure and accessible financing would make ranching more attractive to investors and livestock farmers.
Aondoakaa ultimately described a private-sector-led approach as a potential “win-win situation” that could support agricultural development while helping address persistent farmer-herder conflicts across the country.
