The Federal Government has concluded plans to introduce a digital registration system for cattle and other livestock as part of measures to curb cattle rustling and improve livestock management across the country.
Under the proposed system, cattle and other four-legged livestock will be fitted with electronic ear tags containing unique identification details, geolocation information and proof of ownership.
The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, disclosed this on Tuesday after briefing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the activities of his ministry and the implementation of the National Ranching Policy at the State House, Abuja.
Maiha said the electronic identification system would form part of a national livestock database designed to enable authorities to identify, monitor and track animals across the country.
According to him, the technology would help establish ownership and make it easier to trace livestock that stray or are stolen.
He described the initiative as part of the Federal Government’s non-kinetic strategy for addressing insecurity in rural communities, particularly cattle rustling.
Beyond its security benefits, the minister said the digital registration system would contribute to the modernisation of Nigeria’s livestock sector by moving production away from traditional practices towards a more organised and technology-driven system. 
Maiha explained that the electronic identification programme was being developed alongside the government’s plan to rehabilitate 417 grazing reserves and transform them into integrated livestock communities.
He said the ranching programme would commence with a pilot project in Plateau State before being extended to Benue, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Adamawa states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory.
The minister said the locations were prioritised because of their history of farmers-herders conflicts.
He explained that the ranching strategy was designed to reduce the movement of large herds by providing livestock owners with access to pasture, water, veterinary services and other essential infrastructure within designated settlements.
Maiha noted that the traditional system of livestock production had become increasingly difficult to sustain due to the disappearance of grazing routes as a result of agricultural expansion, urbanisation and infrastructure development.
“Large number of cattle on the move is crisis-prone because, number one, the grazing routes have disappeared. Farms, large farms have come up, aggressive urbanisation, demand for land for infrastructure development, so many other things have made nomadism not sustainable,” he said.
He said the proposed grazing reserves would be developed as economic communities rather than places where cattle would merely be confined.
According to him, the planned settlements would include residential facilities, primary schools, healthcare centres, veterinary clinics, solar power installations and earth dams for irrigation and pasture production.
The government also expects the concentration of livestock within the reserves to attract private investment into milk production, dairy processing, meat processing and other areas of the livestock value chain.
Maiha said the ministry was promoting improved livestock breeds and commercial pasture cultivation to boost productivity.
He explained that improved breeds would enable pastoralists to maintain smaller herds while producing higher quantities of milk and meat.
He added that pasture would either be cultivated within the livestock settlements or harvested from other locations and transported to ranches.
The minister said the government was also working to modernise other aspects of livestock production, including veterinary services, dairy production, abattoirs, fodder cultivation and vaccine storage.
He disclosed that seven model veterinary clinics had already been established, while the long-term objective was to establish at least one model veterinary hospital in every state.
Maiha further said the government was developing off-grid cold-chain facilities for animal vaccines to ensure that they were properly stored and transported under the required conditions.
He expressed confidence that the combination of digital livestock identification, ranching, improved breeds, better veterinary services and modern infrastructure would help reduce conflicts associated with cattle movement while strengthening Nigeria’s livestock economy.
