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RUGA Gets N2.2bn in 2019 Budget

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By Mathew Dadiya, Abuja

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly (Senate) Matters, Senator Ita Enang has called on States in the southern part of the country to support the implementation of the proposed Ruga cattle settlement programme by making land available.

The Presidential aide disclosed that a whopping N2.

258 billion was provided for the implementation of the Ruga programme in the 2019 budget.

Enang is who made the appeal at the weekend when he hosted Students of Law School Abuja from Akwa Ibom State, said that the word – Ruga is not derived from Hausa or Fulani, but an acronym for Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) initiated in 1956 during the colonial era and is not intended to islamize, fulanized or colonize anybody.

Supporting his claims, Enang cited the 2019 federal budget, volume 1 under the ministry of agricultural and rural development item number ERGP 5208 where the sum of N2.258bn was provided and budgeted for the grazing programme.

He maintained that the national assembly members are not against the Ruga programme because they aware of it and had been approving funds for it’s implementation.

Besides the over N2 billion appropriated for the Ruga there were also budgeted sum of N300 million for water sanitation, N400 million development for sweet potatoes, N350 million for ginger development amongst several other budgeted.

He said that the ruga policy is just one component of the budget under the ministry of agriculture.

Though President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered the suspension of the Programme following a widespread protest against the implementation of the Programme in most states across the country especially in the middle belt and southern region.

But the presidential aide stressed that the objective of the budget for ruga is to promote cattle breeding and meet production.

He explained that the ruga programme is an integrated farm system which has schools, good road, tractors and mechanisatiom, agricultural integration.

with a provision for primary healthcare, vetinery, schools.

Senator Enang callee on the governor of Akwa Ibom State to also provide land for the establishment of RUGA in the states while urging the federal government to include his state amongst the benefiting states.

He, however, disclosed that asides the budgeted sum for Ruga in the 2019 expenditure, there is another sum provided for the emergency Ruga implementation programme approved in May by the National Economic Council for states that will make land available.

Enang said that since 1999 he has been hosting students of Law School from Akwa Ibom State but this was specifically to enlighten them on the objective of Ruga programme against the misconceptions making the orunds .

Enang served in the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2011, the elected senate in 2011 to 2015 and appointed SSA to the President on National Assembly (Senate) matters to date.

”One of the rumours was that President Buhari was going to acquire land people’s feed cow, ” he said.

He asked the law students one after the other what they know about Ruga and each and everyone gave his view on the issue.

Some said they have not known much about the real issue because government was yet to enlighten them on it.

Senator Enang said that Ruga is not a Hausa or Fulani word but an acronym for Rural Grazing Areas.

According to him the Ruga programme started in Nigeria since 1956, adding that it is not only for rearing cattle but farming and rearing of other animals.

”Ruga is not a plan to seize land from people neither and it’s not meant to fulanize or colonize anybody.

”The Programme is meant to address the issue of cattle roaming and destruction of farmland which would put an end to the herders/farmers crisis, ” Enang explained.

According to the presidential aide, people in the south have farm settlements and plantations which he equates to Ruga.

”The idea of Ruga graduated in 1978 into the Land Use Act which states that a portion of land has to be reserved for grazing to avoid the destruction of farm produce by cattle.

”Over time cattle roamed and destroyed farms hence the introduction of the policy to address the issue, ” he said.

He noted that in places like the north, earth dams were constructed to cater for cattle.

He expressed shocks over the inability of some states governors to understand the policy.

One of the first Ruga programmes is Obudu Cattle Ranch and the Yankari Games Reserve.

He said that every year there has been allocation for the continuous  funding of grazing areas.

The height of the herders/farmers crisis led to the introduction of the ruga policy May 8, by the federal government mostly in the middle belt region and some states in North east and north west.

He said that it was the National Economic Council (NEC) that approved the establishment of the emergency Ruga policy but wondered by some governors were denying been part of the approval.

The FG is not any way trying to takeover anybody’s land for ruga adding that land under the land use act is on the hands of state government.

He faulted the claims by some governors that it was meant to Fulanize peole.

He said that the emergency ruga programme did not involve any state in the South East, South West and the South South because the areas that had the problems were about 10 states mainly North Central, and few states in North West and North East.

Responding to questions from the law students he said in most places wealth is measured by the number of cattle one has.

Senator Enang said that people in the southern part of the country preferred the local cow because it’s more nutritious than the ones brought from the north.

He urged the states in the south to open up their lands for ruga.

He said those in the habit of abusing their leaders who buy into the ruga programme are not well informed on the policy adding that their representatives in the national assembly unanimously passed the budget for Ruga and the ministers from all the states of the federation also approved the ruga at NEC.

He further highlighted that each state has a representative at the Federal executive council just like NASS.

He said that the president is very sensitive to the plight of Nigerian hence the call for the suspension of the Ruga picy.

The Ruga is an investment programme that will generate money for the state and the country at large.

Ruga (Rural Grazing Areas) started in 1956.

He appealed to all Nigerians to stop politicizing the implementation of the ruga policy.

He said that if lawyers understand, the world will understand.

The students appreciated the senator appealing to government to increase its public enlightenment programme to enable the citizens understand better its policies and programmes in order to avoid rancor.

Ndifrake Inyang, leader of the Akwa Ibom State Students of the Nigerian Law School, Abuja Campus, said: “We came here today to pay a courtesy call on Senator Ita Enang in keeping with his 20 years tradition of hosting law students being that he is a lawyer we came to learn from his wealth of experience.

“Today the distinguished senator took a different dimension by enlightening us on the issue of Rural Grazing Area (RUGA).

I recalled that about two months ago there was crisis in Taraba and Benue states. While I was growing up in my own place (Cross River State) we had a similar issue and this has been on for many years.

“Personally, I didn’t have the right notion about RUGA but I reserved my comment on that at that time because as a lawyer you don’t have to talk until you know all the facts. So having known the facts about the entire process, I am happy and I am in better position to educate others on the subject matter.

“Sincerely speaking the RUGA is something that everybody would want to have because of the economic derivatives. I also want the RUGA settlement in my state Akwa Ibom so that there will be employment and our people can benefit from it and also put to an end the national crisis so that we will have one peace Nigeria.”

Another law student Anastasia Ligiounim Ugbaka, an indigene of Obudu, Cross River State, said that the notion by most Nigerians is that the federal government want to take land from the people and islamize the country the RUGA programme.

She urged the government to expand the Obudu Cattle ranch and increase the number of cattle and other animals so as to create jobs.

She advised the federal government that when implement the RUGA policy they should go about it with caution so as not to ignite crisis because some people still hold divergence view on the issue.


Agriculture

Tiv Monarchs Give Herders Ten Days Ultimatum To Vacate Tiv Kingdom

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By David Torough, Abuja

The Tiv Area Traditional Council during its emergency meeting held yesterday in the palace of the Tor Tiv in Gboko requested the Governor Hyacinth Alia led administration to create an enabling environment to allow herders’ peaceful exit of farmlands in Tiv Kingdom to facilitate resumption of farming activities.

Consequently, the Council directs political and traditional rulers in each local government area of Tiv Kingdom to peacefully engage the herders to ensure their exit from the local government areas to allow farming resumes.

The Council which was chaired by the Tor Tiv himself, HRM Prof James Ortese Iorzua Ayatse CFR equally appealed to all herders in Tiv Kingdom in Benue State to vacate all Tiv lands before the end of May 2025 to allow farmers return and cultivate their farms in order to avoid the looming hunger in Nigeria.

According to a Communique signed by the Secretary of the Council Mr Shinyi Tyozua which deliberated particularly on the security situation in Tiv Kingdom the Council enumerated the communities worst affected to include those in Kwande, Katsina Ala, Logo, Ukum, Guma, Makurdi, Gwer West Gwer East and Buruku Local Government Areas.

The Council lamented that farming activities in the kingdom have ceased due to the occupation of farmlands by herders for grazing and attacks and killings of farmers who fled stressing that if the situation continues it will ultimately result to hunger in Tiv Kingdom and Nigeria as a whole.

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Agriculture

Ondo Govt. Destroys 200kg Seized Cocoa Adulterants

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The Ondo State Government, on Thursday, destroyed 200kg adulterants used for adulteration of cocoa beans, seized from a merchant in Ondo West Local Government Area of the state.

Mr Segun Odusanya, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Forestry and produce sub section), supervised the destruction of the 200kg bags of seized adulterants.

Odusanya explained that the destruction was part of government efforts to ensure that the state maintained quality cocoa production in the country.

“Mr governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has reiterated the commitment to ensure the state remains the highest producing state with good cocoa quality

“Anyone caught engaging in illegal activities will be prosecuted accordingly.

“Moreover, this action was embarked on to warn cocoa merchants, who intend to engage in illegal activities, to rethink before getting into it.

“We are going to seal any store caught in such illegal activities, the products will be burnt while the merchant will be prosecuted according to the laws of the land.

“If we are saying we are the highest cocoa producing state and we continue  to encounter this scenario, it will give us a bad publicity.

“The bad publicity will be in the country and extend to the international market, and we don’t want that,” he said.

The permanent secretary, therefore, commended Aiyedatiwa for graciously approving the recruitment of 60 new staff to checkmate the activities of cocoa merchants in the state.

“Mr governor has supported us, he has said we should recruit more people to guide against any adulteration and ensure we have a good quality cocoa beans.

“I must commended our task force committee for ensuring that the state holds its position in the country and the international market,” he said.

Earlier, Mr Tunji Akinnadeju, a Director of Produce (DP3) in the Grading and Allied Department of the ministry, said the adulterants were intercepted at Ondo West Local Government Area of the state.

Akinnadeju said that the owner of the adulterants took to his heels at the time of arrest.

“As we all know that cocoa is being sold in weight and after adding all these things, it will be sold at high prices, which is not good enough.

“So, doing that will bring a lot of damage to the image of the state and the country at large in the international market,” he said.

Also, Mr Sunday Adegbola, a Director of Produce Licensing in the ministry, said the merchants’ actions could affect people during consumption of the cocoa products, if care was not taken.

Adegbola, who pledged that the ministry would not rest until the state was free from adulterated cocoa beans, said the nefarious action could be attributed to the price tag at the international market.

“It is the price at the international market and the price is better for the farmers, not for the people who use adulterants.

“With this action, many people will drink cocoa as a chocolate powder and other materials from cocoa beans which has been adulterated.

“The consumption of these chemical products will also affect humans,” he said. (NAN)

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Agriculture

NNPC Foundation Empowers Vulnerable Farmers in Oyo, Osun

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No fewer than 500 farmers on Tuesday benefited from the NNPC Foundation agricultural training initiative for vulnerable farmers in Osun and Oyo States.

The training, marking the flag-off in the South-West zone of Nigeria, was held at the Ilora Baptist Grammar School, Ilora, Oyo State.

The foundation manages the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives of NNPC Limited, focusing on education, health, environment and energy access to communities nationwide.

The Managing Director of the foundation, Mrs Emmanuella Arukwe, said the initiative demonstrated the commitment to food security and economic empowerment for Nigerian farmers.

Arukwe, who was represented by Dr Bala David, the foundation’s Executive Director, Programme Development, said the project aimed to build resilience, boost productivity and promote sustainable agriculture.

“We are training 6,000 farmers across six zones in climate-smart practices, modern techniques, quality inputs, and market access,” she said.

She, therefore, urged farmers to participate actively and embrace the opportunity to help secure Nigeria’s food and economic future.

Mr Olasunkanmi Olaleye, Oyo State Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, commended NNPC Foundation for the training and empowerment programme.

Olaleye, who was represented by Mr Olusegun Ezekiel, the ministry’s Director of Regulation and Enforcement, said empowering vulnerable farmers was crucial in addressing national food security challenges.

He added that the initiative aligned with Oyo State’s agricultural transformation agenda of Gov. Seyi Makinde.

“We remain committed to supporting initiatives that uplift farmers and improve productivity and livelihoods,” Olaleye said.

He encouraged participants to make the most of the training opportunity to improve their practices.

He also called for future collaboration between the foundation and the ministry to achieve greater impact.

The training consultant, Prof. Daniel Ozok, described vulnerable farmers as smallholders with an under-five-hectare farm size, mainly made up of women, youth, and the elderly.

“These farmers are most affected by climate shocks, hence the need for focused training,” Ozok said.

According to him, training equips them with modern techniques and strategies for improved productivity and market access.

Some of the participants expressed gratitude to NNPC Foundation and promised to apply the knowledge gained from the training.

NAN reports that a medical screening exercise was organised by the foundation for participants on the sidelines of the training.

Training initiative would later be held for farmers in Ekiti and Ondo States on a date different from that of Ogun and Lagos States. (NAN)

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