The Gombe State government, through its Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (L-PRES) project, has trained 67 livestock farmers on pasture development.

In an interview with journalists in Gombe on Tuesday, the coordinator of the Gombe L-PRES project, Usman Abubakar, said the training was to enhance the livestock value chain.

He said the participants were exposed to modern ways of pasture development for businesses, stressing that harnessing the fodder value chain remained key to empowering youths and tackling unemployment.

Mr Abubakar said that with the training, there would be a culture of growing quality pasture for livestock along the fodder value chain, which would be one of the solutions to the clashes between crop and livestock farmers.

“There are two commodities that are crucial in farmer/herder clashes, which are the feeds and water.

“We are making efforts to boost the availability of these two commodities in the state as a way of minimising farmer/herder contacts, which could lead to clashes.

“We are using the L-PRES project to avert farmer/herder clashes in the state by providing training on how to boost fodder development for business.

“With the water we are providing across the state and pasture development, farmer/herder clashes will be reduced.

“This is because, with a water supply and pasture availability, there will be no need for herders to seek these commodities in farmers’ farmlands,” he said.

Mr Abubakar said that through the L-Pres project, earth dams along grazing reserve corridors had been rehabilitated across the state.

He said over 63 solar-powered boreholes had also been constructed within the clusters of livestock value chains in the state.

Also, Mahmud Bello, the training facilitator, said pasture development was a good avenue for youths to venture into and earn some good income.

He commended the Gombe State government and L-PRES for organising the training to improve the livestock sector.

(NAN)