Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan
The Oyo State House of Assembly on Thursday October 24, 2019 at the plenary session passed the anti-open grazing bill into law.
The bill, according to the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin,would foster peace and promote Agricultural business in the stat, stressing that its passage would help to put a stop to continuous damages and loss of lives and unquantifiable investment to constant clashes between herders and crop farmers.
Ogundoyin appealed to residents of the state to ignore falsehoods and misconceptions of the prohibition of Open Rearing and Grazing of Livestock bill that are capable of triggering hostility between the herders and local farmers’ communities, pointing out that relevant opinions expressed during the public hearing on the bill were accommodated and considered before been passed into law.
According to him, “We assured the people that all suggestions and memoranda of understanding submitted by various groups, agencies and representatives of different communities and tribes on the Open Rearing and Grazing Regulation Bill 2019 was painstakingly looked into before it was passed into law. I am appealing to everyone to shun the rumour spreading that the law is to make life and business unbearable for some targeted group or set of people, rather it seeks to promote peace among residents and different tribes in Oyo state”.
Ogundoyin explained that the 9th Assembly was determined to put in place legal framework that would address the issue of open rearing and grazing as well as encouraging and protecting the economic activities of all individuals in the agricultural sector.
He stated, “Both herders and crop farmers are farmers. The law is to protect everyone. Laws are not expected to favour anyone 100 percent. Life is give and take. I implore all to embrace developmental changes this law is bringing into the agricultural business after it enactment. Let us consider partnership, cluster farming, cooperative ranches and other helpful methods that are working in successful neighbouring country. If we truly desire development and growth in our agriculture, then we have to get ready and adopt new strategies to boost our produces and reduce loss of resources and lives”.