Taiwo Amodu – Abuja
The Kano state governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, had last month inaugurated Professor Jega with the mandate to work towards planning and organizing a befitting national conference on Farmers-Herders conflict in Nigeria and to select appropriate date and venue for the event.
Jega told reporters that towards finding a lasting solution to the farmers-herders clashes, about five hundred Nigerians, including researchers, government officials, and traditional rulers, among others, have been assembled to develop a blueprint and come up with solutions to the perennial problem.
The dialogue is expected to hold Monday and Tuesday, February 13 and 14, 2023, in Abuja, with the team: “Sustainable Livestock Reforms and Mitigation of Associated Conflicts in Nigeria: Farmers/Headers Clashes.”
The former Chairman of INEC, who said the Summit promised to be inclusive, noted that the primary objective of the conference is to bring together a range of stakeholders for cross-fertilization of ideas with regards to how to reform the livestock sector in Nigeria for significant value addition to the economy of Nigeria.
He said:”
The conference’s primary objective is to bring together a range of stakeholders for cross-fertilization of ideas regarding how to reform the livestock sector in Nigeria for significant value addition to the economy of Nigeria and how to ensure that such reforms are sustainable.
They also promote social cohesion rather than conflicts which have bedeviled the livestock production sector and discount with the traditional practices associated with livestock development in this country have been conflicting riddling.
It is essential that we find permanent solutions to mitigate those conflicts and have sustainable ways of not only developing the livestock sector but preventing, if not eliminating such disputes.
“The stakeholders expected at the conference are drawn virtually from all the segments of Nigerian society.
There will be government officials, traditional rulers, civil society organisations, and people from academia. There will be representation from our development partners who are here in Nigeria.
“And we have chosen the best of the best resource persons to make presentations during the conference.
Some are professors, some are entrepreneurs, some are corporate persons associated with the livestock business, some are researchers, and some are associations of either key producers or key participants in the livestock value chain.
“Without sounding modest, this is perhaps one of the best groupings of arrays of stakeholders in an inclusive process to address a national problem.
“And there is no doubt that given the competence and calibers and the capacity of the people we are putting for this conference, the deliberations are going to be very rich and therefore impactful in terms of producing a blueprint to address this problem on a sustainable basis.”
