The Federal government has thrown its weight behind the EU-funded IOM project tagged “contributing to the mitigation of conflict over natural resources between farmer and herder communities in Adamawa State’ (COMITAS)”
The support was restated at the second high-level project steering committee meeting to provide updates and lessons learnt in the implementation phase of the project.
Farmer-herder clashes have ravaged Nigeria for several years, leaving several developmental challenges in their wake.
These clashes are exacerbated by scarce natural resources, population explosion, settlement expansion, environmental degradation and climate change.
Traditional dispute resolutions processes are almost ineffective due to social inequalities and distrust among communities.
As a stop-gap solution to these rising conflicts, the IOM in collaboration with Search for Common Ground and Mercy Corps, implemented a project called the ‘contribution to the mitigation of conflict over natural resources between farmer and herder communities in Adamawa State”
COMITAS was able to establish an early warning and early response (EWER) system, which includes the Transhumance tracking tool, in 35 communities and peace-building platforms during the period.
These efforts have drastically mitigated conflicts in Adamawa state.
The Transhumance Tracking Tool report in May 2022 says 287 alerts were recorded consisting of 255 events and 32 sudden movements.
This has enabled communities to respond immediately to prevent escalation into conflict https://www.tvcnews.tv/2022/06/ondo-amotekun-arrests-71-suspected-criminals/
The federal and state governments had having difficulty carrying out a National Livestock Transformation Plan, which aims to reduce deadly herder-farmer conflict and restrict cattle movement throughout the nation. Although many state governments have endorsed the Plan, it still faces many obstacles.
