Former NIAS President proffers grazing reserve policy to end crisis between pastoral and farmers

Former and pioneer president of Nigeria Institute of Animal Science, Professor Placid Njoku has called for the implementation of Grazing Reserves and Livestock Routes Policy which was first legislated in 1965 and subsequently legislated into law in Kaduna State as a panacea to end incursion of nomadic herdsmen into crop farms, and consequent resulting to destruction.  

 

Professor Njoku noted with regret that most northern states where the problems of farmers – herdsmen clashes are predominant were where the grazing reserve routes are not properly managed for use. 

He therefore advocated for a revival of grazing reserves to discourage seasonal migration of herdsmen to areas of sustaining pastures with potential malady of pastoral/crop farmer conflicts and threat to peace of the nation.

Speaking when the Nigerian Institution of Animal Science in collaboration with University of Agriculture Makurdi organized a one-day conference to brainstorm on the way out of the endless farmers- pastoral feud at the Aper Aku Auditorium, North Core of UAM, the pioneer NIAS President described the event as significant to proffering solutions to this constant crisis which has always been threatening the peaceful co-existence of Nigeria as nation. 

This is contained in a Statement issued to Food-Farm News by Mrs. Rosemary Waku, Head, Press and Public Relations Unit of the University as the university emeritus stated that the problem of desert encroachment must be addressed to guarantee the sustainability of reserve routes adding that Government could overcome pastoralist-crop farmer conflicts with establishment of Green belt across North West and North East States to reduce desert encroachment and increase water retention.

Similarly, the former President of NIAS listed the setting up of Grazing Reserve Commission by each State of North-West and North-East Zones of Nigerian with mandate to set up grazing reserve and fodder banks like Standard abattoirs for slaughters; Processing and cold chain distribution of the meat across Nigeria; Mini to large ranches in North Central States and non-coastal South-East, South-West and South-South States of the country among others. 

The Vice Chancellor of the University of Agriculture Makurdi Professor E. I. Kucha had in his presentation lamented over the dreadful loss of lives and property amounting to billions of naira over the years due to incessant farmers- herdsmen clashes, attributing the ugly trend to competition for limited resources of land, water and vegetation.

Professor Kucha praised the uncommon desire and rare determination of NIAS to find a lasting solution to the problem of farmer pastoralist clash which has assumed a major national security challenge and a threat to food security in the country.

He posited that the problem requires a scientific innovation and modern techniques of animal husbandry, agronomy and agro-forestry to solve.

Executive governor of Benue state Dr. Samuel Ortom who declared the conference open sued for education of the nomads to understand and appreciate the value of destruction of crops by their animals. 

The Governor who was favorably disposed to views that Universities are better positioned to guide Government on proper governance through research information, urged the organizers of the conference to take further steps by interfacing with Government to ensure speedy implementation of research findings and recommendation by the various presentations. 

The Governor was represented by the Deputy Governor Engineer Benson Abounu.

National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS): - Six Decades of Farmer Education, Farm Broadcast and Agric Technology Dissemination (Continuation Part 2)

 

Administrative Structure and Operation

 

NAERLS is headed by an Executive Director who controls the institute administration with a deputy director, two assistant directors, an institute secretary, heads of programmes, departments and units. NAERLS has more than one thousand employees distributed into Academic, Non-Academic and Technical categories.

Basically, NAERLS carries out research in technology development, transfer, adoption processes and extension methodology, tools methods and strategies. It collaborates with other research institutes in Nigeria and outside the country to conduct subject matter research. The institute also coordinates the production of television, radio, and documentaries on agricultural activities. 

It coordinates national/zonal agricultural capacity building targeting farmers, policy makers, investors, students, extension personnel and corporate bodies. NAERLS has consistently been known for its field problem identification and reporting especially by international organizations, government agencies, private investors who are ready consumers of its extension materials (journals, bulletins, guides, television and radio programmes.

In order to cover Nigeria better, NAERLS strategically operates six (6) zonal offices. The North East Office is in Maiduguri; the North West in Kano; the North Central in Bedeggi, Niger State; the South Westin Moor Plantation Ibadan, the South East in Umudike, Enugu State and the South-South (which came up in 2013) is operating from PortHarcourt.

For internal operation, the institute functions under six thematic programmes (four research and two extension training and outreach). They are: Agricultural Performance and Evaluation; Agricultural Extension Researches; Agricultural Economics, Policy and Resource Management, Agricultural Communication Research; Agricultural Extension Training and Outreach and Library Documentation and Information Resource programmes. Above these programmes are professional departments which include: Agric Media; Agricultural Extension and Economic Planning; Agricultural Engineering and Irrigation; Crop and Forestry; Food Technology and Rural Home Economics and Livestock Fisheries. Overall, the programmes and departments work in collaboration with specialized units such as: Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Adopted Village and Outreach Centres; Printing Press; Skill Acquisition and Development Center’ Farm Broadcast Studios (Radio & TV); Web and Multimedia and Information Communication Technology. The operational relationship goes further to engage some service support units, these are: the Public Relations Protocol and Advancement; the Transport and Transportation; the Residence Procurement/De Process; the Work andMaintenance; the Resident Internal Audit; the Staff Canteen; the Security and the Store Unit.

To date, NAERLS has had ten directors. 

The tenth director (current) Ismaila Ilu is an Agricultural Economist who has served the institute in numerous capacities. Ilu was the Assistant Director, Extension, Training and Outreach with the immediate past administration. 

The institute has contributed immensely to the development, promotion and adoption of best practices like the Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM), Community- Based Agric Extension Approach, (Warehouse Receipt System, many labour saving devices (irrigation/ Grand nut oil processing machines), production and distribution of more than 3 million copies of agricultural publications and  more than fifty completed research reports.

The Vision

To be the foremost institute for agricultural extension research and capacity development for effective service delivery increased agricultural productivity, sustainable agricultural growth and wealth creation.

Mission

Develop, collate, evaluate, disseminate agricultural technologies and conduct research in agricultural extension methodologies and policy; and provide leadership in capacity building of stakeholders to meet the present and future agricultural and development challenges of the country.

How missionary farmers have been contributing to food security as association

FCT Coordinator/ President Founder of Missionary Farmers’

The Christians faith is repositioning members towards using agriculture for more earnings and ensuring food security according to the FCT Coordinator/ President Founder of Missionary Farmers’ Cooperative Society (MFCS) Pastor Akin Davids Tinuala who took us round their farms.

Pastor Tinuala said in an effort to boost the standard of living of the faithful especially the missionary workers in the villages where there are enough land to farm as necessitated the establishment of the association saying they have been getting government support in terms of loans and inputs as a group to augment living standard farmers.

According to him “ what are missionary are taking as salary is very small and most of them have land that they are already farming, and this gives us a concern of organizing them into an economic group so that they will be able to attract government support in terms of inputs and financial loan. By the grace of God we have been able to secure for each of our members a soft loan of N150, 000.00 from BOA for about 34 of them to cultivate improved quality vitamin A cassava from IITA through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. As we have individual farm land of members, we also have corporate cassava farm of about 10,000 hectares in Gaba village around Bwari area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Also we are expanding our membership support to other interested individual farmers within and all states of the Federation. Our other members are into Ugu, okro and waterleaf vegetable”

Speaking on the re payment of about N5.1 million BOA loan, the President of the Missionary farmers’ cooperative said that as a registered Christian cooperative with integrity “ our members are already paying back  since they have six month moratorium and one year to pay back at a single digit loan of 5% despite that the we are yet to harvest”

 On FMARD cottage industry Pastor Tinuala said that “we are part of the cottage programme of FMARD as we attended the meeting organized in Moor plantation at Ibadan and we have applied for the cassava processing cottage and we have paid the counterpart fund of N500, 000.00 to get a grant of N10millions while beneficiary will only paid back N4.5 million. Allocation has been given to us and already waiting for Bank of Industry to come with their builders to start work on the processing factory” 

Pastor Tinuala enjoined all other big churches to encourage their members into farming saying this alleviate poverty in the country adding the area of white collar job is gone, a position that was buttressed a member of the association by Mrs Rebecca Irobo who proudly said farming has helped a lot as there is always food to eat through the year without buying anything.

Mrs. Rebecca Irobo in her chat with Food Farm News said she diverted to farming based on high cost of shop rent saying “when I came to Abuja in 1999, I have nothing to do as I was into fashion but I cannot afford the high cost of shop rent , so I diverted to farming . Today in my family, we do not lack anything from January to December apart from meat, I have yam, beans, garri, beans , ugu vegetable and fish. I have goat but I have stopped poultry because of space”  

Horticulture: Ugu cultivation, farmers cry against flood effect

Ugu  scientifically known as Teifairia occidentails is a money spinning business many people especially the youths cannot imagine until they take the bull by the horns as our finding on this healthy edible  vegetable that it can give  about forty to fifty thousand naira daily on an acre of  farmland according to a  farmer who passionately pleaded for government intervention in the area of flood  impact on her produce.

 This  vegetable popularly consumed only in the Eastern part of Nigeria in the years past is now generally eaten by all parts of the country even in the North based on its health advantages to the body in terms of ability to fight radicals and a good source of vitamins C, K and lot of other minerals  like magnesium, potassium and iron.

Apart from the leaves edible of this vegetables, the seeds of it also has money potentials in terms of special oil. The seeds are used to replant after they must have been well dried just as the few that know the health benefits do cook and eat them at a premium price over leaves itself.  

 

 
 Finding reveal that Ugu vegetables happen to be one of the horticultural crops that can be easily engaged as it is always in high demand all year round. For example an acre size of Ugu farm is capable of turning into above five hundred thousand naira per month as it will take less than N60, 000 to cultivate an acre farm of Ugu. This is because all round the season the demand is high, which makes it a fast going business one can easily start family backyard as farm. 

However the Federal Government is doing her best to encourage the commercial production of the horticulture through more cultivations as plan is already going on towards daily exporting of fresh vegetables worth $10 million every year according to a Deputy Direction in the Horticulture department of the FMARD, Mr. Kalu who said that two tones of this Ugu vegetable seeds are already given to select farmers in Abia state.

Mr. Kalu further pointed that the FG sees the sub-sector as a means through which employment can be created to the teaming youth and is also capable of creating a mass pool of wealth for the exiting Ugu farmers saying Ugu is getting consideration as a crop along the value chain of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Programme (ATA) of government.  

 According to him, the horticulture value chain is giving serious attention to the Ugu value chain as well as promoting its sales in the international market, as it is in high demand within and outside Nigeria, especially when it comes to health importance as it is advisable to eat the vegetable in large quantity regularly.

Further finding from other stakeholders revealed that the crop is underrated despite its health and economic potentials as they argued the ugu seeds alone can give raw materials products for sausage, biscuit, cake and ice-cream, just as  they pointed that the business required more attention from the government in area of  more  sensitization and awareness in order to reduce poverty. 

Mrs Cecilia Udubisi popularly Known as Mama Dutsy in the Kubwa- District of Gado Nasko land of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja confirmed the economic potential of this vegetable saying presently the negative impact of rain flood is giving them challenges as many have been  washed away by flood erosion  thereby pleading for government assistance.

Mrs Udubisi spoke in pidgin language that Ugu’ demand cannot be met as people daily come for it adding that she make about N40,000 –N50,000.00 everyday people come very early in the morning to buy to eat and further sell them in the market adding that the impact of erosion is already denying her the expected sale.

According to her “ Ugu vegetable dey sell well because people plenty dey come every morning to buy them. Every day, I dey sell about forty to fifty thousand naira, but now erosion don kill all my vegetables. Come am see sir. If I talk for mouth, you no go understand, see how erosion don wash away my Ugu. I no know how I go get the money wey I use plant am as I don apply fertilizer. I want government to assist us. The seed is very good for money too, but we do use to plant when we don properly dried am”

Mrs Okoye Grace, an Ugu seller, said the business is wonderful as it has been the source of her family sustenance over the years saying it required just little amount to start off  with an assurance of turning it to big investment transferable to the next generation. 

 

 a young entrepreneur, Mr. Seun Ajayi  who has been into the poultry farming in kuje, said he had to diversify into Ugu business after hearing so much and running research on its benefit. He said the business is capable of creating job opportunity for the youths and can be passed from one generation to the other. He further stressed the need for storage facility by government for the preservation of its nutrients being a perishable produce.

 Mr. Ajayi urged the Federal Government to look into investing more in the business and  create more awareness that will bring in more youths as employment generation saying that “ Ugu business is the easiest business  any Nigerian  can easily do. You need less fund, land and seeds to be a multimillionaire”

Although effort is on going towards putting these farmers into an economic cooperative group as some of them are members of Missionary Farmers’ Cooperative Society whose network cut across many states of the Federation according to its founder and FCT Coordinator, Pastor Akin Davids Tinuala who believes that the platform would be used to ameliorate the plight of farmers through economic and other inputs support.