By FELICIA IMOHIMI

The Miyetti-Allah Fulaku Yeso Yeso Development Association (MAFYDA) has urged the Federal Government to provide loan facilities to butchers nationwide to enable them buy cows directly from farmers at livestock markets, rather than through middlemen.

The association said direct access to farmers would greatly reduce the high cost of beef, skin and offal across the country.

Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), MAFYDA National Security Adviser, Comrade Pariya, identified middlemen between Fulani herders and butchers as major drivers of the rising prices.

He said most butchers could not afford to buy cattle directly from farmers due to lack of funds and were compelled to buy on credit from dealers at inflated prices.

“The dealers take advantage of the butchers’ financial challenges to exploit them,” Pariya said.

“Most butchers usually pay them after selling the meat.

“But if the government supports the butchers with loans, they can go to the cattle markets and buy the number of cows they need. In the long run, prices will crash across the country,” he said.

Pariya said a large cow currently costs between N500,000 and N750,000 at livestock markets, but dealers often resell them for between N1.3 million and N1.5 million, depending on location.

He also cited insecurity and high transportation costs as contributing factors to the price hike.

“Security challenges play a role, but it’s often exaggerated. They will tell you there is a security threat in a certain location, but when you get there, you find nothing.

“If butchers can go directly to the market and buy from farmers, everything will be easier,” he said.

Also speaking, MAFYDA Secretary in Taraba, Mr Ibrahim Mohammed, attributed the high cost of beef to rising prices of veterinary drugs and vaccines, consultation fees, and lack of grazing land.

NAN reports that a kilogramme of beef, which sold for between N5,500 and N6,500 earlier in the year, now costs between N8,000 and N9,000, depending on location. (NAN)

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