Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State has warned herders in the state to avoid criminal activities or risk death sentence or life imprisonment.

The governor stated this on Saturday while commissioning this year’s State-Wide Mass Cattle and Small Ruminants Vaccination exercise at Kadawa in Garun Mallam Local Government Area of the state.

Ganduje said instead of engaging in conflicts, the herders should embrace modern livestock production and transform from socio-cultural to socio-economic production to be self-reliant.

“I am happy that we are safe here because we haven’t recorded any farmers herders clash in Kano. So I urge you to avoid any criminal activity and embrace livestock production. We have made a law in Kano and anybody found in cattle rustling or banditry will be sentenced to life imprisonment or sentence to death,” he said.

According to him, the state government is targeting over one million cattle and other animals for vaccination in the year 2022 in its efforts to boost healthier livestock production in the state.

He said the state government has also employed 220 Community Animal Health Workers to work in guiding pastoralists in their activities to boost and transform the sector from Socio-Cultural to Socio-Economic development.

Ganduje said the progress recorded last year has led to a rapid development in the sector, hence the need to enhance and improve the numbers for more success, adding that the development is to complement the Federal Government’s policy to transform the livestock industry.

“Last year we succeeded in vaccinating 703 cattle, 664 sheep and goats which is about 80 percent of the target and we did not record any outbreak in the state which give the pastoralists an opportunity to gain much profit.

“So this year also we want to vaccinate one million cattle and other small ruminants and the activities are free of charge. I urge the pastoralists to bring their animals for them to be vaccinated to enhance production of healthy meet, milk and more,” Ganduje added.

Also speaking, the deputy governor of the state, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, who doubles as state commissioner of agriculture, said the sum of N10 billions has been allocated for various livestock activities including vaccination, artificial insemination of 25 thousand animals, construction of dams, housing for herders,, among many other things for the overall transformation of livestock.

Earlier, the managing Director of the Kano Rural Development Authority, KNARDA, Dr Junaidu Yakubu Muhammad, said the activities are carried out by the Kano State Agro-Postoral Development Project (KSADP) with the support of Islamic Development Bank.

(Daily Trust)

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