Economic Council Forms Livestock Panel To Resolve Farmer-Herder Crisis

The National Economic Council (NEC) has constituted a committee on livestock development to expedite the implementation of livestock production in Nigeria.

This is precisely what Chairman of the Council, Vice President Kashim Shettima, has stated: a practical, enduring, and nationally accepted solution to the farmer-herder crisis will guarantee food security in the country.

The NEC committee on Livestock Development, which was constituted on Wednesday during the 155th meeting of NEC held virtually, is to work in collaboration with other stakeholders.

According to a statement by the spokesman of the vice president, Stanley Nkwocha, the committee has one member each representing the six geo-political zones, comprising Bauchi for the North-East, Niger for the North-Central, Ondo for the South-West, Imo for the South-East, Cross River State for the South-South region, and Kebbi for the North-West.

Other members of the committee include the Ministers of Livestock Development, Agriculture and Food Security, Budget and Economic Planning, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness (Office of the Vice President).

Council directed the committee to, among other things, review the recommendations of the Presidential Livestock Reform Committee and the proposal of the Ministry of Livestock Development, as well as identify interested states for the implementation of the programme.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the Federal Executive Council meeting held on 10th December 2025, directed the NEC to work in collaboration with the Ministry of Livestock Development to develop a roadmap for the transformation of Nigeria’s livestock industry.

The ministry worked on the proposal, which was presented at the meeting for the Council’s endorsement, in an effort to transform Nigeria’s livestock sector into a modern, peaceful, and profitable engine of national development.

Earlier in his opening address, Chairman of NEC, Vice President Shettima, noted that while food security is a moral obligation to the citizens, it can only be guaranteed by practical, enduring, and nationally accepted solutions to the farmer-herder crisis.

“We must acknowledge with absolute regret the deep distrust created by this violence, born out of a trade and an ancestral practice that ought to have remained a central pillar of our food security and rural economy. The loss of lives, the destruction of homes, and the devastation of farmlands must end.

“We cannot perform a task as fundamental as feeding ourselves unless we find an enduring, practical, and nationally accepted solution to the farmer herder crisis. Food security is a moral obligation to our people,” he stated.

Senator Shettima identified mismanagement of long-standing tensions between farmers and herders as the cause of “the conflicts that have strained the ancestral bonds of communities across Nigeria.”

He regretted that what started “as a challenge of coexistence gradually hardened into cycles of violence that were allowed to persist for far too long without a durable solution.

“Today, that violence respects no geography. It has become a shared nightmare that has scarred every region, disrupted livelihoods, and eroded trust between neighbours who once relied on one another for survival,” the VP added.

He commended President Tinubu’s bold initiative to transform livestock production in Nigeria, especially by integrating the sector as a key component of the national economy.

The Vice President urged state governors to take the presentations on livestock development from the Ministry of Livestock Development and the Presidential Livestock Reform Committee (PLRC) seriously, particularly in leveraging opportunities in the sector for economic transformation, conflict resolution, and the restoration of peace in parts of the country.

Senator Shettima noted that it was in acknowledgement of the enormous potential and opportunities in the sector that President Tinubu created a separate ministry for livestock development in Nigeria.

He assured that the recommendations of the PLRC and the Ministry of Livestock Development would receive priority attention from the Tinubu administration, even as he sought the support of sub-national entities to harness the vast opportunities in the sector fully.

“The presentations before us today offer critical insight into responses designed to confront these realities. They speak directly to the challenge of stabilising our food systems, restoring confidence in rural economies, and reducing the security pressures that flow from competition over land, water, and livelihoods.

“At their core, these presentations seek to dispel the false choice between agriculture and security by demonstrating that both are inseparable pillars of national stability,” The VP stated.