The Oyo State government yesterday said it has not taken any position on cattle ranching.
The government said it was awaiting the modalities the Federal Government would adopt to handle the matter.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, Mr Oyewole Oyewumi, broke the news yesterday inj Ibadan, the state capital, after a meeting with a team from the World Bank who was seeking collaborations on livestock development.
Oyo is said to be among the 16 states the Federal Government reportedly designated for the controversial cattle ranching.
Oyewumi said the existing Land Use Act of 1976 had not been amended to accommodate ranching.
He said: “We read and heard, just like you heard, that the Federal Government is considering building ranches as a way of solving the perennial crisis between herdsmen and farmers or in order to control the socio-political crisis that it seems to be leading to in the country.
“And that idea has been proposed on the face of it. It will be the right move for government because we all know that ranching is the modern way of breeding cattle.
“However, as they always say that the devil is in the details, Oyo State has not taken any position with regard to ranching. We will have to see the modalities and the method by which the Federal Government will go about it. We have heard here and there hints that it will essentially be private sector-led. But we will want to see in clear terms how it will be presented to us.”
