Farmers vs Herdsmen: Series IV- Nigerian elite own most cattle, not herdsmen – Investigation
* Active participants: Govs, ex-Govs, ministers, commissioners, perm secs, directors.
·As Kaduna loses N7.5bn tax annually to cattle breeders
The business of cattle rearing is one of the lucrative businesses in the country in which the tax authority does not look into and most of the people behind the business especially in the Northern part of the country, are the elite: State governors, former governors, ministers, commissioners, permanent secretary and directors.
Investigation by The Daily Times indicates that these elite buy the cattle and handover to the herdsmen to rear for them. This is because the cost of feeding the cattle is very cheap as most are shepherded on free grazing land moving from one place to another.
One of the Fulani herdsmen, Sajo Mohammed from Dangoma, Kaduna State, told our correspondent that most of the cattle they breed do not belong to them.
He said that some prominent people from the state and sometimes even outside the state owned the cattle.
He said what normally happen is that, “The person would approach a Fulani man and discuss terms with you, then buy a certain number of cow and give to you, every two years, he gives you a calf or money depending on your agreement”.
This has also put to question; the presumption that the herdsmen are the ones creating the problem. This development would also compel one to ask why the government is so keen at providing free land for grazing or cattle colonies when cattle rearing or herding is a privately owned business.
Mr. Friday Bulus, a farmer in Godo-Godo, a village in Jama’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State where the suspected herdsmen have launched attacks on several occasions, killing tens of people and destroyed homes and farm produce, said he did not support the idea of establishing grazing reserves or cattle colonies for cattle owners.
Bulus said cattle rearing is like every other business other citizens in the country do and as such, it should not be an exception, saying that, “What is sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander.”
Dr. Ishaya Anthony, a farmer and lecturer at the Kaduna State College of Education Gidan Waya, said he totally disagreed with the idea of government proving grazing land for herdsmen. He described the decision as biased and complete injustice to other citizens of Nigeria.
He said: “Where will the governor get the land from? Would the government go and take it from a farmer and give to them? When you want to rear fishes, you go and buy land. You don’t go to government to get you land; Kaduna State is supposed to be one of the places.
“Most of the cattle you see don’t belong to the Fulanis, but they belong to the politicians and other rich people in the country. It’s the elite and big men who employ Fulanis. Why would such big men not buy land but instead want the government to give them land? They only pay the Fulani to keep the cattle.
“What would happen if you remove the availability of land? It would be cheaper for the government to buy all the 16 million cattle heads and replace them with the breed that grows up to 700kg instead.
“There is a cost to land. What is the cost of this land and that of the cattle? That way of life, moving from one place to another, has been done in all societies and would fade away with time. You cannot therefore come and create more problems by expropriating land. Isn’t it better for the cattle owners to get the land, grow the grass and keep the cattle there?
When our correspondent sought from the local people in Southern Kaduna who have been victims of herdsmen attacks on what should be done to address the incessant crises, one of the people simply said “taxation.”
He said: “When the government keeps record of all cattle breeders or owners, it will be very easy to track anyone that commits crime. And because they know the government has their record, and they pay tax per cattle, they will not misbehave as they do. This will help in checkmating their excesses.
“The logic of moving these cattle by the herdsmen from one place to the other is also said to be another means of evading tax payment asides the reason of searching for lush grass.”
Mr. John Kantyok also questioned the rationale behind government’s demands for cattle colony saying, “It is time that the Nigerian leaders examine this issue with open minds and sincerity because cattle are reared everywhere in the world without this sort of problems.
“Many African countries even have far more cattle than Nigeria (e.g Kenya), yet no lives are lost in that country as a result of herding-related conflicts. Also, Argentina has a population of 41 million people, but it feeds about 400 million people around the world with its beef, thereby earning billions of dollars from beef export.
“It appears that there is more to these conflicts than meets the eye. I suggest that the National Assembly should set up an inquiry into the matter in order to unravel the cause or causes of this crises with a view to finding a lasting solution.”
Meanwhile, The Daily Times has beamed its searchlight into the economic advantage of cattle breeding and can authoritatively report that Kaduna State is losing over N7.5billion annually in terms of tax revenue from cattle owners or herdsmen in the state.
Though, the activities of herdsmen have led to loss of lives and properties worth billions of naira especially the southern part of the state, the state government has failed to take advantage of the large number of cattle to rake in billions in tax revenue.
Our investigation revealed that there are over 200,000 cattle being reared or herded in the state either by the Fulani herdsmen or ranched by indigenous people.
An economic expert, Dr. Steven Zankwan told The Daily Times that the state is losing a minimum of N7.5 billion in tax revenue annually to the cattle business owners.
He said, “In advanced economies and even Kenya, farmers or cattle owners are required to value their livestock at the end of each year as part of determining their net income from primary production.
“You can choose to value livestock at cost, market selling value or replacement value. An additional option is available for certain horse breeding stock”.
He explained that asides the normal tax on livestock, Ireland and Denmark, along with other European Nations have begun taxing cattle owners on cow flatulence. The “byproducts” of livestock like cows are responsible for approximately 18% of the greenhouse gases that are causing global warming, according to the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the UN. Just $18 per cow in Ireland, cow flatulence will cost Danish farmers $110 per cow.
Zankwan said that the herdsmen should be taxed based on a stock value, saying that in Nigeria, a cow is sold at a minimum cost N150,000.
The economist said, “If a cattle owner is taxed 5% per cow or cattle head at a minimum prize of N150, 000, that will amount to N7, 500 tax per cow each year and when you multiply it by 100,000 cattle, it will give you N7.5 billion. This is what Kaduna State government is losing annually in terms of tax revenue.”
According to him, all that a cattle investor needs to do is to buy the calves or young cattle and give to any herdsman on agreed terms to rear for him.
Further investigation showed that the business of cattle rearing in Kaduna State is not done by the Fulani alone. Traditional rulers, ministers, politicians, directors, commissioners and permanent secretaries in the state and other top government functionaries are involved in the business due to its high return on investment.
Speaking further, the economist noted that in the United States of America, “Environmental Protection Agency has just exploited a new avenue for more tax on cattle called “greenhouse gas regulation” or a “cow tax” on methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas emitted by livestock.
The Daily Times recalls also that the New York Farm Bureau issued a statement last week, saying it feared that a tax could reach $175 per cow, $87.50 per head of beef cattle and upward of $20 for each hog.
Methane has more than 20 times the heat-trapping potential of carbon dioxide, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Still, there is good news for farmers because the methane can be turned into electricity — called “cow power.”
“You may change the basis of valuation year by year. You may also use different valuation methods for different stock in the same year. However, the value of your opening livestock (at July 1) each year must be the same as the value of your closing stock (at June 30) for the previous year. That is, you must use the same valuation method at the beginning of the new income year as you used at the end of the previous income year.
“It was estimated that these top-down regulations would have cost medium-sized dairy farms with 75 to 125 cows between $13,000 and $22,000 a year as Cow tax or greenhouse gas regulation tax on cattle,” the agency said.
Mathew Dadiya, Abuja
