Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Olufemi Oluyede, has urged the government to adopt ranching as a national policy to address the growing food insecurity in the country. Open grazing, he notes, is no longer sustainable.
“The issue of food insecurity is give and take. Even if all security agencies are deployed to the farms, they cannot cover every farmland. There’s a need to embrace ranching, leverage technology, and ensure every state and local government gets involved,” he said.
The Nigerian Army has established various formations aimed at preventing farmer-herder clashes. Other security agencies, including the Nigerian Navy and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), are also contributing to food security efforts.
The Navy’s Admiralty Farms Limited operates across nearly all six geopolitical zones, providing both food security and physical security for farmers. According to Rear Admiral Yusuf Sani Idris, “The farms provide both food security and physical security for farmers, while plans are underway to expand to other zones.”
The Chairman of the House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, Hon. Chike Okafor, reaffirmed the committee’s commitment to ensuring a safer and food-secure Nigeria, adding that “peace and security are vital for both farmers and security agencies alike.”
