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Activities of Bandits, Falling Trees Threatening Grassland Conservation ~ Alawa
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- Published: 28 November 2021
By Sam Kpenu
The occupation of forests by bandits, indiscriminate falling of trees and other human factors have become a matter of concern for agricultural professionals, as these activities threaten sustainable grazing and conservation of grasslands in Nigeria.
Professor Clement Alawa stated this in his keynote address entitled: “Setting the Agenda for Technology-driven Grassland-based Animal Agriculture in Nigeria,” delivered at the 4th Biennial Conference of the Society for Grassland Research and Development in Nigeria (SOGREDEN), which held at the Institute of Petroleum Studies, on Monday, November 8, 2021.
The Professor of Animal Health and Production described the conference as timely in view of the current national issues surrounding open grazing and anti-open grazing of cattle and livestock in Nigeria. Highlighting the importance of grasslands, Alawa who said it serves as a food source for livestock, habitat for wildlife and offers environmental protection, raised concerns that the activities of humans stemming from over population is increasingly posing a threat to grasslands, which according to him are rapidly decreasing and going into extinction.
Professor Alawa, who is also the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), University of Abuja, said the human activities threaten the existence and food sustainability of livestock, that largely depend on grasslands for feeding, thereby resulting in grazing at locations the livestock should not ordinarily be feeding from which include major roads in towns and villages, and private properties.
He also posited that the strenuous migrations for greener pasture of livestock are impacting negatively on the healthy state of the animals. Alawa, a Fellow of the College of Veterinary Surgeons of Nigeria, recommended that the government policy on grasslands be changed with a view to subsidising agriculture, and that there should be special allocation of lands and adequate funding for agriculture. He also advocated the inclusion and adoption of modern technology in the management of grasslands to improve productivity beyond the present need of animal-based agriculture.
Earlier, while declaring the conference open, the Vice Chancellor of UniPort, represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), Professor Kingsley Owete, described the conference as timely in the light of the growing concerns over the Community/Farmer-Herders crisis resulting from open grazing of cattle on unauthorised places.
The Vice Chancellor, who highlighted some challenges faced by the University, associated with animal pasture-based livestock farming, also expressed hope that the conferees would fully utilise the knowledge shared during the Conference, with a view to improving teaching and learning in the Faculty of Agriculture.
On his part, the former Vice Chancellor of Kebbi State University and SOGREDEN National President, Professor Bello Shehu Malami who said the society hopes to change the status quo in livestock production by providing the desired expertise for revolutionalising the grassland sector, also commended the Vice Chancellor for his hospitality, and the University of Port Harcourt for voluntarily offering to host this year’s conference.
The Conference featured panel discussions by Dr Tunde Adegoke Amole, Country Representative of the International Livestock Research Institute, Ibadan; Dr Roger Tanko from the National Production Research Institute, Zaria and Chief Simon Owhofa, Managing Director, Nutrivitas Nigeria Limited, Lagos and First Vice President of the Nigerian Institute of Animal Science.
The theme of this year’s conference was, “Grasslands Development for Improved Livestock Productivity and Farmers-Herders Coexistence: Option or Imperative for Nigeria.”
