Hussaini Hassan was a nomadic cattle herder who moved his livestock to various parts of Nigeria, including Benue and Kwara, in search of greener pastures, but in the last three years, he settled at the Paikon-Kore grazing reserve in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Dr Zayyanu Garba, a former director in the Department of Animal Services, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), told Weekend Trust in 2022 that the Paikon-Kore grazing reserve was created in 1991 by the administration of former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida (retd). He directed the then FCT minister, Muhammad Gado Nasko, to allocate some lands and even forests for the project, it was gathered.
With a hectare of land in the reserve, Hassan now grows grass to feed his livestock and appears comfortable with the newfound mixed farming method.
“I am a herder and farmer now. I grow grass with which I feed my livestock here in this grazing reserve. Until now, I didn’t know that grass could be cultivated,” he said.
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Paikon-Kore is a predominantly herders/farmers community. The grazing reserve originally sat on over 8,500 hectares of land that share boundaries with four villages—Paikon-Bassa, Paikon-Kore, Dobi, and Kace, all within the Gwagwalada Area Council.
According to an FCT gazette, there are four grazing reserves in the FCT, namely: Paikon-Kore/Dobi in Gwagwalada Area Council (9500ha); Kawu in Bwari Area Council (9000ha); Karshi in Abuja Municipal Area Council (6000ha) and Rubochi in Kwali Area Council (8985ha).
The leader of the community, Alhaji Suleman Ahmad, said the Paikon-Kore grazing reserve project was run by both public and private companies.
He added, “It has positively impacted on their lives as they now have some social amenities with new sources of income that improve their livelihoods.
Read more: https://dailytrust.com/how-fct-grazing-reserve-is-shaping-livestock-settlement/
