A stakeholder’s dialogue to address key issues affecting farmers and herders in the North West region has been held at the Batsari Local Government Secretariat in Katsina State.
Facilitated by Mercy Corps under the EU-funded Conflict Mitigation and Community Reconciliation project, the dialogue focused on challenges such as access to markets for herders and impediments to farm access for farmers.
Representatives from herders expressed concern over the indiscriminate treatment of their community members by security forces and vigilantes, stressing that not all herders are involved in criminal activities.
They gave instances where even women selling milk in markets were unjustly treated as criminals.
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On the other hand, farmers, represented anonymously, lamented difficulties in accessing their farms despite efforts through community response networks to assist herders regain their freedom.
Both sides agreed to collaborate towards finding lasting solutions within their communities. The head of Batsari Local Government Administration, Alhaji Ali Magaji, assured participants that the government would support efforts to implement the agreements reached during the dialogue.
The project, which is a pilot being implemented in four LGAs of Batsari, Jibia, Danmusa and Kankara, had Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) and International Organisation for Migration (IOM) as other members of the implementation consortium.
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