By Muhammad Sani Muazu
The Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (L-PRES) project team, led by Bauchi State Project Coordinator Musa Adamu One, has carried out an advocacy visit to the Bogoro Local Government Council, seeking collaboration and support to improve livestock health and productivity.
During the visit, the Chairman of Bogoro Local Government, Surveyor Lawi Yakubu Sumi, expressed his enthusiasm for the initiative, describing it as a welcome development. He highlighted the significance of prioritizing animal health to safeguard public health, stating, “In developed countries, animal diseases are given much priority than human health. So whenever you want to safeguard the health of the public, animal health must come first.”
He assured the L-PRES team of the council’s full support and called on herders in the area to cooperate fully with the project to ensure its success.
Speaking during the visit, Musa Adamu One, the State Project Coordinator, described the L-PRES initiative as the first of its kind, aimed at enhancing livestock productivity and mitigating the challenges posed by animal diseases.
“Under this project, we are planning to construct a veterinary clinic in Bogoro Local Government to ease the problems of livestock diseases,” he said. He emphasized the importance of tackling diseases that are transmittable from animals to humans, adding that the project recently conducted livestock vaccinations in the local government as part of its ongoing efforts.
Musa further stressed the need for community involvement to ensure the success of the project, stating, “The essence of this visit is to tell you about the objectives of the project and to seek your support. Whatever you want to do in any community, if they do not support it, it will not see the light of the day.”
The Social Safeguard Officer of the L-PRES project, Amina Garba Aliyu, highlighted plans to establish conflict mitigation committees in the local government as part of the project’s reforms in the livestock sector.
“Bogoro is not known for farmer-herder crises, but under this project, we are going to constitute conflict mitigation committees comprising local government council members, security personnel, farmers, herders, and other stakeholders to restore cattle routes and implement other reforms,” she explained.
Amina reiterated that the project’s success hinges on the involvement of the local community, assuring that stakeholders would be part of every step of the project.
The L-PRES project, which is being implemented across Bauchi State, aims to boost livestock productivity, improve animal health, and mitigate potential conflicts between farmers and herders, fostering sustainable development in the agriculture sector.