Cattle Breeders Association Admits Difficulties in Open Grazing in Benue

George Okoh in Makurdi

The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association has said open grazing ìs no more sustainable in Benue state, assuring the people  that it would embrace initiatives to end the practice and ensure peace in Benue rural communities.

The Benue State Secretary of MACBAN, Ibrahim Galma made the declaration.

Galma who assured the state  that MACBAN would support the project to achieve its aim of having peace in Benue state, noted that the association had been part of the project from its pilot stage.

While emphasising the need for collaboration between herders and farmers to achieve the aim of the project Galma said: “The position of MACBAN is that we are fully in support of this project from the beginning and we are going to be in this project to the end.”

He spoke at a one-day Stakeholders’ Engagement/Launch of AgroPastoral Inte-gration for Peace and Sustainable Development (AIPASD) Project by GoGreen Environmental Health Sustain-ability Initiatives, convened under the Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria (SPRiNG), programme.

“Now that the project has been expanded within Guma and Makurdi Local Government Areas (LGAs), key stakeholders in the areas should be involved, and we should also have a local committee comprising the Ardos and traditional rulers to help the pastoralists get knowledge of how to live peacefully with farmers.”

“We now know quite well that open grazing is not sustainable, not only in Benue state but in Nigeria in general. And from all indications, we have come to understand that there is a need for us to adapt to the reality because of the growing population, the challenge of insecurity and climatic condition that is adversely affecting our rural communities.”

“So we need to focus on smart agricultural practice in the sense that we can have our cattle and also plant crops within our neighbourhood. From the crops we can feed our cattle and the manure of the cattle can also be used to fertilise the crop. This is a method one can use to survive with his livestock within the confines of his environment.”

“So, if we can stop open grazing in good condition and understanding I believe there would be no clashes between farmers and herders. It is on the strength of that that MACBAN is standing to support this project because it is an important project that would provide lasting solution to the conflict that we are facing in our hinterland.”

On his part, the Benue State Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria, (AFAN), Peter China, who lamented that for eight years most farmers in the state could not access their farms due to herders crisis, thanked GoGreen for the initiative which helped farmers gain access to their farms from last year.

The Chief Executive Officer of GoGreen Environmental Health Sustainability Initiatives, conveners of the meeting, Jackson Ameh, said the event marked a significant milestone in the collective journey towards building a more peaceful, resilient and inclusive Benue state.

Represented by the Lead Consultant of GoGreen, Dr. Timothy Kyume, he said: “This initiative is timely and critical. We are all too familiar with the persistent conflicts between farmers and herders—conflicts that have strained community relationships, disrupted livelihoods, and exacerbated poverty and insecurity.

“Through AIPASD, we are working to shift the narrative by providing tools, knowledge, and platforms for farmers and pastoralists to coexist peacefully, increase productivity through sustainable practices, and build mutual trust and economic interdependence.”

The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Prof. Moses Ogbaji, commended GoGreen for the initiative assuring that the state government would work closely with it “because the attainment of peace is the number one priority of the Governor Hyacinth Alia government.”