Tukur  Buratai, chief of army staff, says some army officers have been sent to Argentina to learn cattle rearing.

Speaking at the launch of Mogadishu cantonment mammy market in Abuja on Tuesday, Buratai, who was represented Patrick Akem, chief of army logistics, said the army would set up cattle ranches in all its divisions.

A statement issued PRNigeria quoted Buratai as saying that in keeping with modern cattle-rearing tradition, he sent “officers of the army to Argentina to look at how cattle are reared”.

“Argentina has a population of 41 million people, but it feeds about 400 million people around the world with its beef,” he said.

“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, theremaking their meat tough to eat; the products will soon be coming from our own farms and ranches.”

He said he created the Barrack Investment Initiative as a platform to give families of staff the opportunity to create fishing ponds, fruit and vegetable gardens, keep livestock, and poultry.

According to Buratai, the intention of the army is not only to secure the country but also to contribute in growing the economy.

“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,” he added.

Source: TheCable