TheCable

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo says the federal government has formed a new security outfit to protect investment in agricultural sector including cattle.

Osinbajo made this known while speaking at a 3-day national conference on the transformation of the livestock industry holding at the International Conference Centre in Abuja.

The vice-president, who was represented by Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture and rural development, said the security outfit is called Agro Rangers.

Ogbeh said the 3,000 armed Agro Rangers were trained by the ministry of interior to curb the menace of cattle rustling and to protect agricultural investments.

“We have heard how many of you have lost money, 300 cows, 200 cows in one night to cattle rustling, we have now put together a new security group called the Agro Rangers,” he said.

“If you start a ranch or you have a big agricultural project we post them to you at no cost to you to protect your investment.”

The minister also said the federal government will provide insurance cover for investments made in the livestock sector.

Ogbeh said Nigeria has about 19 million cows and will support private players to get into the agriculture sector.