As part of move to modernise Nigeria’s livestock sector and address the protracted farmer-herder crisis, the National Economic Council (NEC) has inaugurated a high-level committee to fast-track the implementation of a national livestock development programme.
The decision was reached on Wednesday during the 155th NEC meeting, presided over virtually by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
The committee, chaired by Kebbi State Governor, includes one representative from each of the nation’s six geo-political zones: Bauchi (North-East), Niger (North-Central), Ondo (South-West), Imo (South-East), Cross River (South-South), and Kebbi (North-West).
It will be supported by the Ministers of Livestock Development, Agriculture and Food Security, Budget and Economic Planning, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness.
The council mandated the committee to review existing recommendations, including those from the Presidential Livestock Reform Committee and the Ministry of Livestock Development, and to identify willing states for the pilot implementation of the programme.
This action follows a direct directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Federal Executive Council meeting of December 10th, which charged NEC to collaborate with the ministry in creating a actionable roadmap for the industry.
In his opening address, Vice President Shettima framed the initiative as a critical moral and economic imperative, directly linking national food security to a lasting resolution of the farmer-herder conflict.
“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,” Shettima stated.
He lamented that mismanaged tensions have hardened into “cycles of violence,” which have become a “shared nightmare” disrupting livelihoods and eroding trust across the country.
The Vice President emphasized that the new committee’s work is designed to dispel the “false choice between agriculture and security,” positioning livestock transformation as a dual engine for economic growth and peace restoration.
The newly created Ministry of Livestock Development had presented its proposal to NEC, outlining a plan to transform the sector into a modern, profitable, and peaceful pillar of national development.
The newly constituted committee is now tasked with translating these plans into on-the-ground action, marking the Tinubu administration’s most structured step yet towards resolving a conflict that has long threatened Nigeria’s stability and food supply.
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