Afan, Macban, Traditional Rulers, CSO’s Collaborate to  Promote Peace, Productivity,  Resilience in the Livestock Sector

By Andrew Ojih,  Jalingo. 

The Taraba state chapter  of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN),  traditional rulers and civil society organisations on Tuesday pledged their commitment to a collaborate to implement the process of promoting peace, productivity and resilience in the livestock sector in Taraba state. 

The pledge was made in Jalingo during a stakeholder engagement plan validation workshop under the livestock productivity and resilience support (L-PRES) Project.

The stakeholders during the workshop reiterated their resolve to support an implementation framework that will strengthen harmony between farmers and pastoralists while boosting livestock productivity in Taraba  and across the country.

The workshop was organised by Global Peace Development (GPD) in collaboration with the state L-PRES team with support from the World Bank.

Participants at the workshop vowed to work tirelessly to ensure the successful validation and execution of the Stakeholder Engagement Plan.

Speaking, the Director of Programmes at GPD, Faith Prince, described the workshop as a critical milestone toward ensuring that the L-PRES project is implemented in an inclusive, transparent and responsive manner that reflects the needs of stakeholders across the livestock value chain.

She maintained that stakeholder engagement must not be seen as a one-off consultation but as a continuous and structured process that guarantees meaningful participation of institutions and communities throughout the project lifecycle  from planning and implementation to monitoring and evaluation.

The validation workshop was convened to review and affirm findings from earlier roundtable discussions and field analyses.

 Participants were also tasked with agreeing on consultation and communication structures to guide project implementation, defining institutional roles and coordination channels, and confirming grievance redress and feedback mechanisms at both state and community levels.

Also speaking, the Executive Director of GPD, Ebruke Onajite Esike, explained that the workshop was necessary to validate the report of the roundtable discussion held in the state last month.

Esike disclosed that data for the engagement plan were collected from both Adamawa and Taraba states, noting that the development of a comprehensive grievance redress protocol can no longer be overemphasised.

He urged stakeholders to give maximum support to the L-PRES initiative to ensure it achieves its goals and objectives in the state.

He noted that presenting engagement findings and reviewing institutional recommendations had become imperative to strengthening coordination and ensuring effective project delivery.