The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association says open grazing ìs no more sustainable in Benue state, assuring that it would embrace initiatives to end the practice and ensure peace in Benue rural communities.
The Benue State Secretary of MACBAN, Ibrahim Galma made the declaration Tuesday.
Galma who assured that MACBAN would support the project to achieve its aim of having peace in Benue state, noted that the association had been part of the project from its pilot stage.
While emphasising the need for collaboration between herders and farmers to achieve the aim of the project Galma said “The position of MACBAN is that we are fully in support of this project from the beginning and we are going to be in this project to the end.
He spoke at a One Day Stakeholders’ Engagement/Launch of AgroPastoral Integration for Peace and Sustainable Development (AIPASD) Project by GoGreen Environmental Health Sustainability Initiatives, convened under the Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria, SPRiNG, programme.
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“Now that the project has been expanded within Guma and Makurdi Local Government Areas, LGAs, key stakeholders in the areas should be involved, and we should also have a local committee comprising the Ardos and traditional rulers to help the pastoralists get knowledge of how to live peacefully with farmers
“We now know quite well that open grazing is not sustainable, not only in Benue state but in Nigeria in general. And from all indications, we have come to understand that there is a need for us to adapt to the reality because of the growing population, the challenge of insecurity and climatic condition that is adversely affecting our rural communities.
“So we need to focus on smart agricultural practice in the sense that we can have our cattles and also plant crops within our neighbourhood. From the crops we can feed our cattle and the manure of the cattle can also be used to fertilise the crop. This is a method one can use to survive with his livestock within the confines of his environment.
“So if we can stop open grazing in good condition and understanding I believe there would be no clashes between farmers and herders. It is on the strength of that that MACBAN is standing to support this project because it is an important project that would provide lasting solution to the conflict that we are facing in our hinterland.”
On his part, the Benue State Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN, Peter China who lamented that for eight years most farmers in the state could not access their farms due to herders crisis, thanked GoGreen for the initiative which helped farmers gain access to their farms from last year.
The Chief Executive Officer of GoGreen Environmental Health Sustainability Initiatives, conveners of the meeting, Jackson Ameh said the event marked a significant milestone in the collective journey towards building a more peaceful, resilient and inclusive Benue state.
Represented by the Lead Consultant of GoGreen, Dr. Timothy Kyume, he said: “This initiative is timely and critical. We are all too familiar with the persistent conflicts between farmers and herders—conflicts that have strained community relationships, disrupted livelihoods, and exacerbated poverty and insecurity.
“Through AIPASD, we are working to shift the narrative by providing tools, knowledge, and platforms for farmers and pastoralists to coexist peacefully, increase productivity through sustainable practices, and build mutual trust and economic interdependence.”
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Prof. Moses Ogbaji and his counterparts at the Ministry of Power, Transport and Renewable Energy, Omale Omale as well as that of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Aondowase Kunde represented by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Humanitarian and Disaster Management, Mimidoo Kadev lauded GoGreen for the initiative assuring that the state government would work closely with it “because the attainment of peace is the number one priority of the Governor Hyacinth Alia-led administration.”
The Director General, Bureau of Livestock Development and Transboundary Animal Diseases and Control, Dr Aondakaa Asambe who said sustainable peace was paramount to the state government urged the Federal Government to make laws prohibition open grazing to complement the creation of the Ministry of Livestock Development.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Internal Security, Chief Joseph Har who noted that political crisis in the state was worsening insecurity in the state urged that MACBAN back its promise of peace with action in order to support the good works of Governor Hyacinth Alia in the state.
The Director General of Benue Peace Commission, Josephine Habba urged GoGreen to sustain its strides of building and sustaining peace in Benue communities assuring the support of the Commission.
The Program Manager of GoGreenon SPRiNG Project, Mr. ThankGod Aromeh explained that the Project would be implemented in communities of Makurdi and Guma LGAs of the state to provide support to farmers and herders to transit to AgroPastoralism as part of a sustainable livelihood, to address farmers-herders conflicts, strengthen communities peace building mechanisms among others.
Also speaking, the Director General of Bureau for International Corporation and Development, BICD, Dr. Leonard-Angelo Viashima stated that Governor Hyacinth Alia had opened up the state for businesses saying that the government would continue to support local NGOs in their quest to attract businesses to Benue to advance her economy, agriculture and entrepreneurship.
He lauded GoGreen and its partners for finding Benue worthy pledging that BICD would provide coordination and ensure that all stakeholders were better informed to contribute their quota to the success of the project.
In an overview of the SPRiNG program, State Project Coordinator, GoGreenon SPRiNG Project, Theodora Chia, said the programme was designed to respond to persistent challenges or violence conflict and climate related pressures in Nigeria especially in Benue by addressing the root courses of insecurity and enhancing the adaptive capacity of communities to vulnerable environment for a more stable and peaceful nation.
The State Commander of Agro Rangers Unit of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp, NSCDC, CSC Moses Ihom who represented the State Commandant of NSCDC, Alice Bitrus assured that the unit would collaborate with GoGreen to ensure peaceful coexistence between farmers and herders in the state.
The meeting which had in attendance representatives from various sectors including Civil Society Organizations and Benue Non Governmental Organizations Network, BENGONET, was supported by the UK Government through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, FCDO, and implemented in partnership with Tetra Tech International Developments.
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