NORTH-SOUTH CATTLE TRADE DECLINES BY 50 PERCENT
NORTH-SOUTH CATTLE TRADE DECLINES by 50 PERCENT Cattle traders are facing an existential threat, especially in the northeastern part of Nigeria, with stakeholders calling for urgent intervention to save the sector. Investigation by Weekend Trust revealed that as a result of the spate of insecurity ravaging parts of the country and the ban on open grazing in some states, with no serious alternatives like ranches put on ground, cattle breeders are forced to migrate to countries like Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Sudan and Central Africa. Our correspondents who went round and interacted with market officials, cattle traders and residents across the North-East region, report that stakeholders in the business are worried over the dwindling fortune of their businesses. Cattle movement Data generated after months of market survey in 63 different markets across the North-East indicate that 593 trailer-loads of cattle are transported to the southern part of Nigeria on a daily basis. The survey also revealed that each trailer, on average, carries 42 cows, which summed up to 25,499 being supplied to the South, especially Lagos, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Akwa Ibom, Onitsha, Uyo and others. But based on state-by-state reports, Yobe now contributes 223 trailers as against the 400 it used to supply from 12 major cattle markets, Adamawa 200 instead of 300 from 12 cattle markets in the state. Borno now supplies 50 trailers daily instead of 100 from its four major markets, while Gombe contributes 50 trailers as against over 80 from seven markets. Also, Taraba now supplies 40 trailers daily instead of 70, while Bauchi can only boast of 10 trailers daily compared to 40 it supplied years back. However, these figures do not include the number of cattle being consumed everyday within the region and other parts of northern Nigeria. Apart from the famous Potiskum cattle market in Yobe, cows are loaded from other major markets in Garin Alkali; Nguru; Geidam; Babban Gida; Damaturu; Kukareta, Yadin Buni, Ngalda, Jajere, Borno Kiti, Girgir, among others. Market officials who spoke with Weekend Trust said pressure on herders, coupled with the spate of insecurity in the region, affected the number of cattle in the markets. Our fortune has declined Malam Adamu Garba, the Potiskum cattle market superintendent under the Fika Emirate Council, told Weekend Trust that there’s a sharp drop in cattle supply in the region. He said, “Before now, more than 400 trailers of cattle were leaving this market to the South on a weekly basis; but today, we can only boast of 200 trucks, which is 28 trailers per day.” He said the decrease in supply was noticed from October 2023 to January 2024. Alhaji Bello Bulama, the head of Garin Alkali cattle market, also confirmed a decrease in the number of cows supplied to the market. “The supply kept dropping over time – from 70 trucks to 50. Now, we are getting less than 40 trucks on market days (Sundays). We now transport less than 30 trucks of cattle to the southern part of the country weekly as against the previous supply – between 60 and 50,” he said. Also speaking, Alhaji Muhammad Dala Mala, the Zango of Nguru Emirate Council, who was a leader at Nguru cattle market, confirmed the decrease in the number of cattle being supplied to the market. He said, “To be honest with you, only between 30 and 50 trailers go out with cattle every Tuesday, unlike before when we pushed out over 100. It is a situation that every cattle trader should worry about.” Also, Shettima Alhaji Umaru, the secretary of the Geidam Cattle Market Association, said the unfavourable situation breeders found themselves in was affecting the flow of cattle into the market. “Unfortunately, we sometimes have less than 12 trucks going out of…
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