…. L-PRES trains 114 on animal husbandry practices
Gombe State Government has inaugurated state Steering and Local Government committees under the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project on mediation, prevention and management of conflicts between farmers and herders.
PERISCOPE NIGERIA reports that it’s part of a comprehensive strategy to boost agriculture, livestock production and commercialisation of the livestock value chain activities in the state.
Inaugurating the Committee members at Amar Hall Gombe on behalf of Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, the Commissioner Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperatives, Dr Barnabas Malle said, ‘’Conflict between farmers and herders has become great source of concern, with negative impact on farming and livestock business in our communities and the state as a whole.”
He, therefore, instructed the committee to begin work immediately, considering the important role they are expected to play towards promoting peace and understanding among farmers and herders in the state.
Malle, then urged members of the committees to explore every opportunity within their reach to find a lasting solution to the aged long conflict between farmers and herders, explaining that “Peace and stability is essential in our communities to promote both farming and rearing of livestock for enhanced economic prosperity and food security in the state.”
Earlier in his address of welcome, Gombe State L-PRES Coordinator, Professor Usman Bello Abubakar, expressed satisfaction with the development and commended Yahaya for supporting the L- PRES Project from its inception up to the inauguration of the committees.
He commended the state Governor for his foresight for earlier forming a committee on demarcation of cattle routes and grazing reserves, noting that encroachment on cattle routes are among the major causes of such conflicts and lauded the efforts of traditional and communities’ leaders for their support in promoting peace in our communities.
The Project Coordinator, urged the committee members to participate actively to enable them to prepare adequately for the task ahead. “The success of the project will depend largely on the level of commitment you have demonstrated to create a peaceful and enabling environment for the development of agriculture and livestock in the state’ he added.
Members of the committees include traditional rulers, community leaders, members of Miyetti Allah organisations, cattle marketers security and para military personnel, and all relevant stakeholders in the agriculture and livestock sectors across the state.
Shortly after the inauguration, members of the Committee began a one-day training on mediation, conflict resolution and management to promote social cohesion between Farmers and Herders in the state.
The training was organised by Gombe state L-PRES office with resource persons drawn from Gombe state University and the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperatives.
In a related development, the Gombe State Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) has trained 114 Community Livestock Service Providers on good husbandry practices across the 11 Local Governments Areas of the state.
Speaking before commencement of the training, the Gombe state L-PRES Project coordinator Professor Abubakar said the objective of the training was to ensure food security, create job opportunities and improve the local economy by building the capacity of citizens especially women and youth on improved livestock production and its value chain activities to boost their socio economic status.
While assuring that similar workshops would be organised from time to time to update their skills in modern livestock practices, he charged the participants to step down the training when they go back to their respective communities pointing out that the L-PRES project has developed a monitoring mechanism to assess how the extension workers impact on the local communities.
Some participants who include Adaline Musa and AbdulAziz Muazu said the training has improved their capacity and knowledge on modern animal husbandry techniques and how best to manage and treat animals for improved productivity and profit, assuring that, the knowledge gained would be shared among other stakeholders.
Some of the papers presented include ‘’Management of Small and Large Ruminant in Urban and Rural Communities within Gombe state’’. ‘’Poultry Production Management: Key to Successful Business Operation to Small, Medium and Large-Scale Production’’ and ‘’Importance of Farm Records and Disease Reporting’’ among others.
