Herdsmen in Delta State have requested for 30, 000 square metres of land in the 25 local government areas for cattle breeding and establishment of livestock markets.
In a memorandum signed by Alhaji Musa Shuwa, chairman of the Delta State Cattle Dealers Association, the herders described as grossly-inadequate, the 5,000 square metres designated as grazing areas contained in the draft bill, because of the facilities expected to be in the areas.
The herders made the request on Tuesday in Asaba, the state capital, at the public hearing on a Bill for a Law to provide for the Regulation of Livestock Breeding, Rearing and Marketing and to Prohibit Open Grazing and Related Matters in the State.
The hearing was organised by the Delta State House of Assembly Joint Committee on Special Bills and that of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Presently, Shuwa said the association has livestock markets in seven towns in the state, with the smallest is situated on land mass of about 4,500 square metres, while the largest is 7,000 square metres.
Chairman of the Joint Committee, Mrs. Pat Ajudua, said the public hearing was to garner the inputs of the public, particularly major stakeholders in the making of the proposed law.
