Nigerian Govt Fueling Farmers, Herders’ Crisis – Herdsmen

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Nigerian Govt Fueling Farmers, Herders’ Crisis – Herdsmen

A Fulani herdsmen’s association, Kullen Allah Cattle Rearers Association of Nigeria, (KACRAN) said failure by the federal government to involve the right stakeholders in the formulation of agricultural policies and programs has incapacitated the sector to grow to it full potential in Nigeria.

The Association shifted the blame to the federal government in a statement released on Monday in Damaturu by its National President, Khalil Mohammed Bello.

The National President in the statement said in drafting most of the agricultural policies, the government usually considered farmers as critical players while neglecting pastoralists, a situation which had for long created enmity between the two inseparable brothers.

He also alleged that most Nigeria’s agricultural policies and programs favored the farmers than the pastoralists, noting that, it was partly due to the involvement of the farmers’ associations in designing agricultural blueprints in the country.

“If not all, most of the federal government’s agricultural policies, though, we are not in doubt that they were introduced with good faith to develop the agricultural sector in the nation, but are unilateral due to fact that the pastoralists were neither involved in the policy formulation nor their representatives contacted to give some inputs on the policies more especially when it is perceived that such policies are detrimental to the pastoral occupation.

“To start with as we are severally saying, and not only we are pressing this issue but even the former Minister of Agriculture Hon. Mr Audu Ogbe had stated in many instances that Nigeria’s pastoralists and pastoralism, in general, were neglected for over 50 years,” Bello pointed.