Gombe State is sparing no expenses in its efforts to bolster livestock production by investing in Wawa -Zange grazing reserve in keeping with national livestock transformation plan.

 

Wawa- Zange is a 146,000 hectare grazing reserve empowered by the national grazing law of 1965 for cropping and animal husbandry and Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya’s determination to revamping the reserve will generate an estimated minimum of 30 billion naira to Gombe State’s GDP, create 40,000 direct jobs and attract billions of dollars in investments.

 

Gombe state is one of the 10 highest cattle producing states in Nigeria and as the population of the country rises to 400 million people by 2050, cattle beef production remains one of the key drivers in Nigeria’s long-term growth and food security.

According to available data, the north produces 90% cattle while 70% consumption of beef and other dairy products is done in the southern part of Nigeria.

 

Wawa-Zange is specially gazetted as a grazing reserve for animal husbandry as enshrined in the national grazing law of 1965 reviewed in 1999. sitting on 146,000 hectares of land – Wawa-Zange grazing reserves supports crop husbandry and livestock production within its ecosystem.

 

Gombe state government is set to transform Wawa-Zange grazing reserve into a multi-billion dollar cattle beef production hub equipped with veterinary clinics, milk processing plants, slaughterhouses, hospitals and new modern schools for the children of the pastoralists/herders.

 

Governor Inuwa Yahaya, who leads yearly vaccination of cattle, also wishes to enhance value addition to cattle beef production in keeping with the national livestock transformation plan.

 

With longer dry seasons and shorter rainy seasons caused by climate change, cattle rearers travel long distances in search of water for their animals often causing farmer-herder conflicts.

The Gombe state livestock productivity and resilience support (L – PRES) project says it is bringing water to wawa zange grazing reserve to keep herders in one place with all basic amenities.

 

According to Prof. Abubakar Usman Bello, L- PRES coordinator in Gombe state, in order to protect the environment, the grazing reserve will be fitted with solar-powered sources of energy, security outfits and boreholes to which the beneficiaries are grateful.

To maximize the livestock transformation plan of the federal government Gombe state plans to utilize state-of-the-art technologies in processing and exporting the numerous value chains possible in cattle beef production – and with the political will and immense potential of the Wawa-zange grazing reserve, the future seems bright.