The Ekiti State Government has committed to proactive engagement with farmers and herders to prevent clashes, aiming to enhance food security in the state. The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Ebenezer Boluwade, speaking on Thursday at a two-day training for the state Peace Committee for Farmers and Herders, state Project Implementation Unit and other stakeholders, said the state would do the right things to ensure crop farmers and herders co-existed peacefully. The training on “Conflict, dialogue and resolution to promote social cohesion between crop farmers and livestock farmers,” was organised by the Ekiti State Coordinating Office of Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project, a World Bank project in Nigeria being implemented by the Federal Government and Ekiti State.
Stakeholders at the programme included traditional rulers, market men and women, crop farmers, livestock farmers under the aegis of Miyetti Allah, the leadership of the Fulani community, religious leaders and security agencies, comprising the Nigeria Army, Nigeria Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Department of State Service, Amotekun Corps, Ekiti Agro Rangers and Marshals, among others. The state had recorded cases of destruction of farmlands by cattle and the attendant crop farmers and herders clashes in the past. Boluwade said the state set up the peace committee primarily “to ensure peace in our localities.
The aim is to ensure that we enjoy peace and tranq.
