Plateau State Government said the adoption and implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan was part of strategies towards deepening peaceful coexistence between herders and farmers in the state.
State Deputy Governor, Professor Sonni Tyoden stated this while flagging-off the distribution of pastures to farmers in Wase Local Government Area of the state on Thursday.
The National Livestock Transformation Plan is a Federal Government framework geared towards improving the livestock sector and eliminating conflict by involving and strengthening intensive livestock production system with the aim of making it more productive and sustainable.
The plan which began in 2019, has Plateau, Nasarawa and Jigawa as pilot states.
The Plateau Livestock Transformation Pilot project situated on large hectares of land at the Wase Game Reserve is currently producing pastures with 30 farmers and herders each being trained in modern farming techniques at the project site.
Flagging-off the distribution of pastures to farmers, Plateau State Deputy Governor, Professor Sonni Tyoden expressed delight with the success story of the programme describing it as the best in the country.
Prof Tyoden who is the state Chairman of the Livestock Transformation Plan, commended the Steering Committee for a job well done and urged people of Wase LGA to take ownership of the project in view of its benefits.
“I am also praying that you will continue to give it the necessary support so that this programme that has started and gone this far, will be completed successfully. It is a project that is specifically meant for farmers and herders. They are the ones that will benefit from it”, the Deputy Governor emphasized.
Director General Research and Documentation, Government House, Jos and Secretary, Steering Committee, Professor John Waktong Wade while highlighting the benefits of the project, attributed the successful implementation of the first phase to the support of the state government, traditional rulers and other stakeholders.
He pointed out that there were long term plans that will also be executed as the project gets into the phase 2 and noted that in the course of executing the phase, they enjoyed tremendous support of the state and the Federal Government as well.
Emir of Wase, Sambo Haruna and Chairman of Wase Local Government Council, Ado Buba represented by his Deputy, Nanven Audu said the project will boost agricultural activities and entrench peaceful co-existence between farmers and herders in the state.
Earlier, state Project Coordinator, Livestock Transformation Plan, Luka Madaki who highlighted the milestone of the scheme since inception, noted that the organization hopes to expand to accommodate more beneficiaries.
Madaki while appealing for more intervention especially in the area of water and other infrastructure, stressed the need for the sustenance of the project by the incoming administration.
