By JIMOH BABATUNDE with agency reports

The perennial clashes between pastoralists and farmers in the country have been attributed to the non-enforcement of grazing laws on the part of government.

A former retired Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Ahmed Joda, said the global climate change phenomenon, had exacerbated desert encroachment, thereby pushing pastoralists further southwards in search of grazing lands.

He spoke with journalists in Abuja recently on plans by a Non Governmental Organisation, Pastoral Resolve (PARE) to mobilise N5 billion (about US$31 million) for the establishment of six grazing reserves in six states in northern Nigeria.

Joda said the continued clashes have their genesis in the fact that grazing laws are deliberately ignored, thereby encouraging encroachment of gazetted grazing reserves. “Lack of political will and total neglect of the livestock sub-sector by the various governments has resulted in massive encroachment into both gazetted, proposed grazing reserves and blockage of stock routes in the country.

”The policy and legal vacuum serve to exacerbate the conflict between pastoralists and crop producers, a situation that continues to escalate over much of the northern and the middle-belt states of the country.

Joda, a retired Permanent Secretary, who is currently a farmer, expressed concern that the current tension between herdsmen and farmers constituted a threat to peace and national security, if not addressed.

“I can see no peace, if we don’t solve this problem. As important as oil and the manufacturing sectors are, the livestock industry provides nutrition and jobs, among other economic benefits.

“At the rate we are going, there will be no grazing land; and this might result to a war along ethnic and religious lines. If we have peace, and stability, we do not need security checks which drains the national economy, if we can develop the livestock industry and eliminate tension associated with it,” he said.

Joda explained that the NGO, Pastoral Resolve (PARE) which he is the President is set to mobilise N5 billion (about US$31 million) for the establishment of six grazing reserves in six states in northern Nigeria.

This initiative is aimed at solving the perennial conflicts between pastoralists and farmers occasioned by poor access to land and water, among other facilities.

The targeted pilot states are Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger. Pastoral Resolve is working on the project in collaboration with Enhancing Nigerian Advocacy for a Better Environment (ENABLE), a development agency.

Earlier, Mr Umar Hassan, the Chief Executive Officer of PARE, noted that only 12 of the 433 grazing reserves in the country were functional while 36 were receiving attention.

The livestock industry, Hassan said, had the potential to generate about US$ 20 billion but currently accounts for six to seven percent of the nation’s GDP, representing N250 billion (about US$1.5 billion) .

According to him, there are 21 million pastoralists in Nigeria, representing 14 percent of the population, rearing 16 million cattle, among other livestock.