Peoples Democratic Party 2027 State House of Assembly candidate in Benue State, Bemgba Iortyom, has rejected plans by the Federal Government to establish pilot ranches in the state, arguing that livestock owners should finance and develop their own ranches.
Iortyom made the position known in a statement issued on Saturday in Makurdi while reacting to the Federal Government’s plan to select Benue among five states for a pilot ranching programme aimed at addressing farmer-herder clashes.
The former PDP state publicity secretary urged the Federal Government to support livestock owners in establishing ranches on land they legally acquire rather than use public funds to develop private businesses.
“As livestock farming is a legitimate private business, those who engage in it must shoulder the burden of acquiring land lawfully and ranch their animals, just as crop farmers and other private entrepreneurs bear the burden of acquiring land and the facilities required for their businesses,” he said.
Iortyom questioned why a policy aimed at resolving farmer-herder conflict would focus primarily on ranches for herders and livestock owners.
He also asked whether compensation for farmers affected by years of attacks, destruction and displacement would form part of the proposed policy.
“Where at the negotiating table are the representatives of farmers’ communities that have suffered attacks, destruction and displacement?
“Where are the traditional institutions and landowners whose ancestral land is targeted to be affected?” he asked.
The PDP candidate recalled that the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari introduced several policies between 2015 and 2023 aimed at addressing the farmer-herder crisis, but said Benue residents rejected them.
These included attempts to revive grazing routes, cattle colonies, the RUGA settlement programme, the National Livestock Transformation Plan and proposals linked to the Water Resources Bill.
Iortyom said the policies were rejected because they placed what he described as the burden of resolving the crisis on communities that had suffered killings, displacement and loss of property.
“For eight years between 2015 and 2023, Benue people were confronted with one proposal after another supposedly designed to resolve what the Federal Government persistently described as ‘farmer-herder conflicts’,” he said.
He argued that any Federal Government effort to modernise livestock production should encourage livestock owners to establish ranches on lawfully acquired land.
“If the Federal Government wants to modernise livestock production, it should encourage livestock owners to establish ranches on land lawfully acquired for that purpose, rather than seek to annex ancestral land belonging to farming communities to be carved out for government-established settlements for herders,” he said.
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