By Yunusa Isa, Gombe

In an effort to tame the lingering farmer-herder clashes in Gombe State, the Livestock Productivity Resilience and Support (L-PRES) Project, has awarded a 200 million Naira contract for the survey and redemacation of 37 cattle routes and seven grazing reserves across the 11 local government areas of the state.

Speaking before signing the contract agreement at a stakeholders meeting in Gombe, the State Project Coordinator Professor Usman Bello Abubakar, said the contract award is part of the state government’s commitments to ensuring lasting peace between farmers and herders in Gombe State.

Professor U.B Abubakar said under the L-PRES Project which aimed at reforming the livestock sub sector, the Inuwa Yahaya led Administration’s has surveyed the long existing cattle routes and grazing reserves which are found to have been encroached and/or altered by farmers and residents.

The L-PRES coordinator said the contract is meant to redefine and redemacate the routes and reserves to stop farmers from cattle routes encroachment and equally stop herders from farm destructions.

He expressed optimism that “With this development, Gombe State has open up a new chapter of ensuring a lasting peace and development between our farmers and herders. This will surely prevent us from having the northwestern states experience which has now become an issue to national security”.

Professor Bello Abubakar commended the state government for constituting farmer-herder conflict prevention committees, which he said have significantly mitigated the annual conflict reoccurrence between the two parties.

He appealed to farmers, herders and traditional leaders to support the contracting company and its staff for the success of the initiative.

On his part, Surveyor Ibrahim Saeh who signed on behalf of the contracting company I.S. Surveying & Geo Informatics Ltd And Ignited Goals Ltd, assured of timely execution, and according to agreed specifications.

In their goodwill messages, the State Chairman Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) Alhaji Modibbo Yaya and Chairman All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Modibbo Sadik Ahmad Nafaɗa and other stakeholders, appreciated the state government initiative through the L-PRES.

They assured to support the project, the contractor and the state government in bringing a lasting peace in the state.

The contract is expected to be completed in 6 months.