Enugu Govt trains farmers, host communities on conflict mitigation

Enugu Govt trains farmers, host communities on conflict mitigation

The Enugu State Government, through the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES), has trained livestock farmers and host communities on conflict prevention, mitigation and management in the livestock sector.

The training, which was titled: “Training of State-Level and Community-Level Stakeholders on Crisis Prevention, Mitigation and Management Strategies,” was organised by the Enugu L-PRES on Friday in Enugu.

Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Dr Patrick Ubru, said the training was important to ensure peaceful coexistence among farmers, livestock owners and host communities.

Ubru said that the state government was developing a modern, integrated livestock value chain, adding that effective engagement with communities was necessary to achieve the objectives of the investment.

He noted that conflicts between herders and farmers could undermine agricultural production and investments, stressing the need for stakeholders to learn how to prevent, mitigate and manage such crises.

According to him, the government is adopting a public-private-partnership approach in the development of livestock facilities to ensure that host communities are involved and take ownership of the projects.

He said that the state government had also recruited 160 veterinary professionals  to strengthen animal health services and support the development of the livestock sector.

The commissioner said the ongoing integrated livestock development centre at Ubahu/Amankanu in Nkanu East, including its 15,000 capacity ranching facility, was designed to improve livestock productivity, create jobs and strengthen the value chain.

He urged farmers, livestock owners, veterinary professionals, extension workers, community leaders and government agencies to work together to promote early reporting, vaccination, biosecurity, dialogue and peaceful coexistence.

Also speaking, the State Project Coordinator of L-PRES, Dr Ifeyinwa Nnajieze, said the involvement of host communities was critical to the sustainability of the projects being implemented by the state government.

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Nnajieze said that the government was deliberately involving traditional rulers, women leaders, youths and farmers in the projects to ensure that communities would take ownership of the interventions after the L-PRES programme.

She said that the approach would help bridge the gap between government and host communities while promoting sustainability and revenue generation.

Nnajieze said that the livestock value-chain in the state included cattle, sheep and goats, poultry and piggery, adding that the training was aimed at improving coordination among stakeholders.

She said the state government’s livestock investments included artificial insemination and breed multiplication, a 15,000-hectare capacity ranch, climate-smart irrigation pastures, aquaponics, modern meat processing and packaging facilities and a milking parlour.

The coordinator said that the interventions were aimed at transforming livestock production into a sustainable business capable of creating employment and improving livelihoods.

 Dr George Nwachi, President-General of Amankanu Community in Nkanu East and Permanent Secretary in the Enugu State Ministry of Health, said the community initially had concerns about the extent of land required for the livestock project.

Nwachi said that the concerns were addressed after the community leaders were engaged and informed about the objectives and expected benefits of the project.

He said the community subsequently communicated the benefits to its members, leading to increased support for the project and the participation of youths.

According to him, the engagement by government officials helped to reduce tension and build trust between the community and the state government.

Nwachi commended the Commissioner for Agriculture for listening to the concerns of the community and providing explanations on the project.

He said the community was now seeing the project take shape and was hopeful that it would provide employment and other opportunities for its people.

A poultry farmer, Mrs Nnenna Obioha, who is a participant at the training, said that the training had equipped her with useful knowledge on how to manage conflicts before they escalated.

Obioha said that she learnt that conflicts were easier to manage or resolve at their early stages than when they had escalated.

“I just learned from the speaker that crisis should be resolved early instead of allowing it to escalate,” she said.