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From: Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
As the planting season sets in, farmers in Benue State have been enjoined to go about their farming with care and extra vigilance in the face of the continued threats posed by the incessant herders’ attacks in the state.
Team Lead of Synergos Nigeria in charge of Benue State, Michael Agon, stated this on Thursday, during a State Partnership for Agriculture (SPA) meeting with Agriculture Vision Group and Agriculture Innovation Group (AIG) held in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
While positing that herdsmen attacks on farmers and farms was becoming a serious cause of worry in the country, Agon maintained that the only solution to this recurrent menace remained ranching.
According to Agon, “We all know that herdsmen’s attacks is a serious problem to farming activities in the state. I am therefore thinking in line with the ranching arrangements of the governor. If the bill for ranching is passed and the cassava peels project is on course, it is believed that since cassava peels is very rich in fiber, it would be a good feed that can be utilized to feed the cattle without this extra burden on farmlands.”
“Farming is the way of life of the Benue people. The culture of the Benue people is farming. We must not run and leave our farms for the cattle. Farmers cannot stop farming and herdsmen cannot stop tending to their cattle. All we just need is to be careful and extra vigilant in our farms.”
He disclosed that Synergos Nigeria was presently running a partnership in Agriculture with Benue, Kogi and Kaduna states.
Agon said the partnership was to explore opportunities around the states in the area of agriculture in collaboration with other private Organizations with a view to training leaders of farmers groups who would in turn take the message back to their respective localities.
