Cattle breeders from the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and farmers from the Southwest Commodity Farmers Organisation signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to foster peaceful coexistence in the zone.
During a day-long session in Ibadan, the two parties signed the peace pact.
According to Olusegun Dasaolu, the coordinator of the South West Farmers Organisation, the MoU is an agreement between Miyetti Allah herders and farmers to work together to boost food production and assure sustainability in the South West and throughout Nigeria.
Dasaolu noted that the accord also entrusted both sides with identifying genuine herders and farmers and developing long-term solutions to the issues they face in the region.
Dasaolu said: “What the memorandum of understanding with cattle breeders translates to is that the farmers in the Southwest and the herders have agreed to work together for the unity of farmers and the progress of agriculture so that conflicts will be resolved amicably.
“And from this moment, the first step we are going to take is to identify the genuine herders in the Southwest and who are the genuine farmers, and we have agreed to connect better.
“This is going to go a long way in solving the food crisis in the sense that farmers will now feel secure enough to go back to their farms, so agricultural production will increase, and this is going to greatly assist in the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu.”
Speaking, Othman Ngelzarma, National Chairman of Miyetti Allah, stated that the event provided an opportunity to define a course for safeguarding the security of both farmers and herders in the region.
He believed that if farmers and herders in the Southwest banded together, they could successfully detect and handle any problems within the region’s pastoralist communities.
Abimbola Akeredolu, Southwest Director of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, urged for the continuous use of technological solutions in agriculture to help farmers and increase food production.
