As part of its plans to contribute its quota to economic growth, the Nigerian Army has revealed that it is planning to organize cattle ranches in almost all divisions and all brigades across the country.

This was disclosed by the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, through the Chief of Army Logistics, Major General Patrick Akem, during the Commissioning of Mogadishu Cantonment New Mammy Market in Abuja.

According to reports, the planned move by the Army is in a bid to keep up with the modern cattle rearing tradition, as representatives of the Army were sent to Argentina to observe how cattle were reared.

Buratai said, “Argentina has a population of 41 million people, but it feeds about 400 million people around the world with its beef. To take it to the next level, we want to adopt a system where the cattle are not just free ranging coming from Sokoto to Port Harcourt, thereby making their meat tough to eat, the products will soon be coming from our own farms and ranches”.

“We have created the Barrack Investment Initiative as a way of giving Army family opportunity of setting up fishing ponds, vegetable gardens, fruits, livestock, chicken and their eggs,” he added.

He also noted that the Nigerian Army intentions was not just to secure the country also, to contribute to the economic growth of the nation.

“We want to tell our wives that they can live beyond the salaries of their husbands, so we are trying to empower the women in the barracks to be able to form co-operatives, so as to access loans and to a large extent be able to fend for themselves and their families, even without the salaries of their husbands”Buratai added.

SOURCE: AGRONIGERIA