Maize farmers in Gombe State, on Monday laud the Federal Government’s intervention in dry season farming through Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) as beneficial to pastoralists in some communities.
Alhaji Adamu Tukur, State Special Project Coordinator, Maize Association of Nigeria, spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dadin-Kowa, Yamaltu/Deba Local Government Area.
Tukur said the intervention had yielded a lot in terms of the increase in the availability of maize fodder for pastoralists to feed their livestock.
He stated that problem of getting maize fodder and hays to feed livestock especially after wet season farming had resulted in migration of cattle breeders from one location to another.
“We have harvested some of the 600 hectares of maize cultivated in this community under the ABP which will also assist cattle breeders.
“During the commencement of harvest, some pastoralists approached us and expressed their intention to bring in their cattle to graze on the leftover on the farmland.
“In fact, a hectare of harvested maize farmland is about N20, 000 and even the chaff will be made available to them.
“So you now see that the dry seasoning intervention is boosting availability of maize fodder for cattle to feed on; this is timely,” Tukur said.
He commended the Federal Government for efforts in boosting food security through year round farming, adding that increased investment in dry season farming would boost food availability in the country.
Malam Musa Bappah, a pastoralist from Dadin-Kowa said that prior to the intervention of Central Bank of Nigeria in dry season farming; the farmlands in the community were under-utilized.
“Now we have several hectares of maize which when fully harvested many pastoralists would take their cattle there to graze.
“And that is why some cattle breeders have not taken their cattle out,” Bappah said
He appealed to government to invest more in dry season farming to bridge the gap in cattle grazing that always resulted in mass migration of pastoralists from their communities.
