NGO counsels Adamawa, Taraba stakeholders over farmer-herder’s crisis
A non-governmental organisation, the Search for Common Ground, on Saturday, assembled Adamawa farmers and herders alongside Taraba state’s farmers and herders in Yola to find a lasting solution for peace between the two groups.
While speaking at the experience sharing meeting, the Project Manager Gambo Wada, told Arewa PUNCH that the brainstorming meeting was for the purpose of allowing the two groups from the two states to develop policies that can help the government to end the perennial farmers and herders crisis.
“Any document developed by farmers and herders will be stronger than any documents developed by people outside their rank. These two groups know better where their problems lie and what government can do to tackle the problems,” Wada advised.
He noted that it is the responsibility of SFCG to contribute to the mitigation of conflicts over natural resources between farmers and herders for peace and development.
Professor Augustine Ndaghu, who is a professor of agriculture extension and development communication and also doubles as a member of the Adamawa State farmer’s forum
in an exclusive chat with Arewa PUNCH, disclosed that the SFCG has taken the giant strides in ensuring that peace takes its rightful place in Adamawa and Taraba states.
He noted that climate change has a lot of influence on the farmers’ and herders’ crisis.
According to Ndaghu, “People’s population increase, animals population also increase, but the land cannot increase, so there must be crisis because farmers want to expand their farms and herders need more lands to graze, so there is conflicting interest. “
He added that with the increase in population of both humans and cattle, there must be another alternative for herders to feed their animals outside open grazing.
Also speaking at the meeting, Prof John Ajai, of Taraba State University advised the two groups to critically look at the activities of foreign herders, who he blamed for causing majority of the crisis between farmers and herders in Nigeria.
The don disclosed that indigenous herders don’t have serious challenges with farmers because of the age long relationship between the two groups, but lamented that foreign herders come into the country with AK47 to takeover the land by force.
In his comments, the Chairman of the Association of Nigerian farmers, Adamawa chapter, Usman Michika, said that the problem the government is facing with the grazing reserved was not involving the local community in the creation of the reserves.
