Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, has said the incessant farmers-herders crisis threatens food and national security.
Abubakar stated this in Abuja at the Regional Summit on Human and Climate Security Challenges and Farmers-Herders Conflict Resolution in the Livestock Sector.
He said the regional summit with the theme, ‘Promoting Peace and Climate Security in the Crop and Livestock Farming Sectors’, became necessary as it has provided the opportunity for dialogue and discourse on the way forward for achieving peaceful coexistence between crop farmers and livestock herders whose incessant conflict in the region is threatening food and national security in Nigeria.
Going down memory lane, he said: “Farmer-herder conflict predates the existence of Nigeria as an independent, sovereign nation,” adding that it has become a conflict that the previous and current generations of farmers and herders, especially rural dwellers have come to know and manage properly using traditional methods.
He expressed dismay over the magnitude the crisis has assumed in the recent years, calling on all critical stakeholders to find a lasting solution to the menace.
He said: “The dimension it has taken lately call for deep introspection into unravelling the causes of the heightened, unwarranted attacks by both actors in the conflict and more innovative ways of addressing it.
“The surge in the age-long conflict has been recently attributed to the complex interaction between the changing nature of the availability and access to natural resources (land and water) in the region as a result of the effects of climate change.
“Other factors include the rapidly rising population of humans and livestock, diminishing arable and grazing lands, industrialisation, negative political influence, and undermining of age-long but proven traditional approaches to managing conflicts.
“Natural resources are under increasing stress due to climate change, leading to fierce competition and violent conflicts over their use.
“While climate change was not a precursor to the migration of herders to the Southern and North-Central of Nigeria, it has increased their migration from areas with a high frequency of drought and lower availability of natural resources to the Southern forest zone with better resources for their livestock.”
He further noted that the North-Eastern region of Nigeria is experiencing the negative impact of the depletion of water in the “oasis in the desert” Lake Chad on the livelihood of over 45 million people living in the Basin, noting that crop farmers, fishermen and particularly livestock farmers and other people living around the lake depend on it for their economic well-being and sustenance.
According to him, “Some of the consequences of Lake Chad drying up is the increased unrest in the region occasioned by competition for scarce resources among fishermen, farmers and herders.
“This unfortunate situation has been exacerbated by the terrorist activities of Boko Haram in the region, banditry and kidnapping for ransom which has now extended to other parts of the country in Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
“Our desire as a nation is for the restoration of the Lake in the sub-region to its former glory by recharging it and also prevent further shrinkage.
“This is evident in our various appeals to the international communities, development partners and other allies of Nigeria and Africa for assistance.
“Studies have also shown that over 409,700 hectares of forest are lost to deforestation every year.
“The consequence of this is a rapid increase in evaporation rate and a decrease in the aggregate amount of precipitation, leading to warmer weather in tropical Africa as well as stress on water resources for livestock and the people, whose livelihoods depend on them.”
The minister, therefore, tasked participants at the summit comprising experts, researchers, professionals, livestock industry players and other critical stakeholders to come up with “concrete and actionable recommendations for combating this quagmire that is fueling the farmers-herders conflict and hastening insecurity in Nigeria in particular and the region.”
He pointed out that the livestock industry in Nigeria and West Africa has huge potential for sustainable employment of millions of people through its numerous value chains, hence it is not an industry to be handled with kid gloves.
He said: “I encourage you to brainstorm, discuss and compare notes as national and regional key players in the livestock industry and climate security sector and arrive at the common objective this summit seeks to achieve, which is promoting regional peace and climate security in the livestock sector.”
Also speaking, Chairman, House Committee on Agricultural Colleges, Research Institutes, Munir Babba Dan Agundi, commended the Federal Government for various initiatives taken to resolve the lingering crisis between farmers and herders.
Agundi, however, urged the Federal Government to monitor the funds disbursed to states to ensure that they are judiciously used for the purpose it was meant.
He further called for the setting up of committee at the local government areas to monitor the activities of herders and farmers in order to nip in the bud any brewing crisis.
