The Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh on Thursday revealed why the Federal Government intends to import grasses.
Speaking during an interactive session with the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria, NPAN, in Lagos, Ogbeh stated the importation of grass would bring an end to the crises between farmers and herdsmen.
As stated by Ogbeh, Nigerian cows, which should be among the best breed in the world, lacked the capacity to produce quality milk because they wandered about, adding that grasses in the country are not nutritious enough.
He said, “The largest ranch in the world, dairy farm in the world is in Saudi Arabia; 135,000 cows in one farm, but they are the most comfortable cows on planet earth, they live in air-conditioned tents.
“They eat and they produce milk; they give 40 litres of milk per day. We do, sometimes, half a litre of the milk. That’s why Saudi milk is all over the gulf.
“Where do they get their grass? They get their grass from the U.S.; import alfalfa grass from the U.S. and from Sudan.
“Our cows are wandering and the herdsmen are at war with farmers; a crisis we must bring to an end as quickly as possible. And the solution is: grow grass.
“I have stated it before, but I came up against a barrage of assaults. ‘Is it grass now? Na grass you go import?’
“With all due apologies to the commentators, they do not know as much as I do about this business of cattle; I keep some.
“There is no way you can keep cows without good grass to feed them and the grass must have a minimum of 18 per cent protein, trace elements and amino acids, then the cow will give you good meat.”
Recall that the Minister recently disclosed that the Federal Government was making plans to import grass from Brazil in a bid to put a stop to the persistent crises between farmers and herdsmen.
Ogbeh had claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari was putting up grazing fields for herdsmen across the country, adding that the imported grasses will be kept there.
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