From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Federal Government of Nigeria has commenced partnerships with Brazil, Israel, the Netherlands, and other countries on technology for sustainable pasture production and management to curtail cattle grazing.
This initiative is a result of the perennial clashes between farmers and herders, leading to the loss of lives and livelihoods.
National Coordinator of the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES), Sanusi Abubakar, stated this yesterday at a two-day workshop in Abuja.
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Abubakar also identified water and pasture as the two main drivers of conflicts that must be addressed.
“So we are organising this very important pasture workshop because in livestock we have two drivers of conflict: water and pasture. So we are handling the pasture. What we are doing, we are looking at technologies to improve pasture production.
“We have different countries that have approached us as a project. They want to showcase their own technologies in this country to see how they can move it, like Brazil, Israel, and the Netherlands.
“So today is the turn of Israel. They have approached us with their companies, and we said, okay, let us showcase it to our 20 states and see the technologies so that our livestock farmers can adopt these technologies to improve what they are doing.
“The expected outcome is to gain knowledge on the technologies, share knowledge, and see how the states can adopt this.
“For instance, a lot of states have a lot of programmes across the grazing reserves, across the livestock farms. So we want to see how the states can adopt these technologies and utilise them.
“We want to commercialise pasture. Like you used to go and buy feeds for poultry, we want to buy feeds for cattle, sheep, and goats so that you can reduce the radius of conflict.
“Yes, you know, I have to appreciate the current Federal Government, the government of President Bola Tinubu, for even creating the Ministry of Livestock because it is a step in the right direction.
“And we are collaborating because we are under the Federal Ministry of Livestock. We are collaborating to see how we can reduce this issue. I told you clearly two aspects: water and pasture.
“And that is what we are doing in L-PRES. If you address these two, you are addressing the drivers of conflict. You reduce the radius of movement of the pastoralists.
“If you reduce the radius, you are reducing the conflict. So that is what we are doing, and there’s seriousness,” he said.
Earlier, Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhar Maiha, said it was time for Nigeria to revisit all projects on livestock and to forge a common synergy to drive the livestock agenda.
Represented by his Special Adviser on Livestock Enterprise, Isiaq Bello, the Minister said: “There was a strong relationship between the implementers of the National Livestock Project Division and the former Nigerian Agricultural Cooperative Bank.
“During that time, this pastoral project was financed by the project; funds were domiciled with the Bank of Agriculture in all aspects of the livestock value chain. We had the cattle factory, sheep factory, and so on.
“I am appealing that we bring back those implementations and collaborations between L-PRES, other projects, and the Bank of Agriculture. Because the Bank of Agriculture has a lot of branches all over Nigeria.”
He also implored banks to give loans to farmers with low interest rates, in order to boost agriculture.
“On behalf of the farmers, we are requesting low-interest loans, less than 10%, single digits.
“The pursuit of sustainable pastoral management is not merely an agricultural undertaking; it is part of environmental stewardship, social stability, and economic resilience.
“This workshop underscores the importance of global partnerships, including collaboration between esteemed institutions and government agencies to harness climate-smart technology and digital innovation.
“The involvement of our local and international stakeholders like farmers, researchers, policymakers, and development partners in our efforts reinforces our shared commitment to transform the sector,” he appealed.
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