Plateau Diaspora Group Calls for Suspension of FG Ranching Policy, Demands Broader Agricultural Approach

• Says cattle-centric policies ignore community trauma and other agricultural sectors

Our Correspondent

The Plateau State Association United Kingdom, PSA UK, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to suspend the proposed National Ranching Policy and subject it to “robust, transparent and inclusive community engagement” before further implementation.

PSA UK is a UK-based association of Plateau State indigenes and residents focused on advocacy, community development and humanitarian support.

In a statement signed by its President, Dr. Solomon Chollom, and made available to newsmen in Jos, the diaspora group said successive federal administrations have pursued “cattle-centric agricultural policies without sufficient regard for the legitimate concerns, fears and experiences of affected communities,” particularly in the Middle Belt.

PSA UK said communities in the Middle Belt have endured “devastating cycles of violence, displacement and the destruction of lives, homes, farms and livelihoods” for decades, and that many remain in IDP camps.

For those communities, the group argued, land-related livestock policies go beyond economics.

“For people who have lost relatives, homes and access to ancestral farmlands, policies involving land for cattle production are not merely economic policies. They raise deeply sensitive questions about security, ownership, justice, rehabilitation, return and the future of their communities,” the statement said.

The association also criticized what it described as a pattern of reintroducing similar policies “under different names and terminologies, including cattle colonies, RUGA, ranching and livestock settlements.”

“Changing the name of a policy does not automatically remove the fears of the people,” PSA UK said.

The group urged the Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha, to “suspend further implementation of the proposed National Ranching Policy” and instead conduct “rigorous policy analysis and a comprehensive assessment of its potential impact on peace, security and social cohesion, particularly in the Middle Belt region.”

PSA UK said democracy requires “consultation, transparency and the meaningful participation of the people whose lives and lands may be directly affected.”

It also questioned the “overwhelming focus on cattle” and called for a “holistic, balanced and inclusive” agricultural policy.

The association listed poultry, fish farming, potato and vegetable value chains, tubers, cereals, food processing and agricultural technology as sectors that also require “aggressive interventions, infrastructure, financing, research, processing facilities, insurance schemes and market support.”

“Food security cannot be built around one sector alone. Let Plateau develop and expand the agricultural sectors in which its people have expertise and comparative advantage. Let other regions equally develop the sectors best suited to their environment and economic realities,” the statement said.

The group further warned against the impression of favouritism in government support.

“Why should government appear willing to acquire or allocate land and provide extensive support for one category of private agricultural enterprise while countless farmers across other sectors struggle independently to access land, capital, infrastructure and basic support?” the group asked.

“Government support must not create the impression that one type of agricultural business receives exceptional privileges while others are left to struggle without similar institutional backing.”

The association outlined conditions it said must be met before any land-related agricultural policy is implemented including direct engagement with affected communities and stakeholders; transparent assessment of social, economic, security and environmental implications; plans for rehabilitation, return and recovery of displaced communities; respect for constitutional rights, land rights and community dignity; a balanced agricultural policy that supports crops, poultry, fisheries alongside livestock; and assurance that no policy becomes “a source of further conflict, suspicion or division.

“Development without justice is not progress and agriculture without inclusion is not sustainable.

“The people are not opposed to agriculture. They are not opposed to development. They are asking to be heard, respected, consulted and protected,” Dr. Chollom said.

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