The Dean school of Agriculture and 8ndutrial Technology, Babcock University, Professor Akintunde Akinsoyinu.,. says the Federal Government is to blame for the ongoing violence and bloodletting across the country caused by rampaging herdsmen.
The Don told a delegation of the National Association of Agricultural Journalist, NAAj, in Ilesia-Moro Ogun State, that following a proposal submitted to the Federal Government by a team of Researchers under his supervision in the department of Animal Science, University of Ibadan, the past administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan approved the sum of N23million for the research and production of commercial feed blocks for ruminants, using materials sourced locally.
He however, noted with regret that the Agricultural Research Council of of Nigeria, ARCN, through which the funds were routed, remmited only N6million to the researchers who had taken pains traversing the nooks and crannies of the country to locate resources for the production of the feeds that could have confined the Herdsmen to permanent grazing locations across the country.
“The ARCN voted N 23million for us but only N6million was released. We were expected to use local raw materials to prepare the feed blocks and we were able to identify where those items were located, we spent a lot of money even beyond what we had been given because of the importance of the proje t to the country.
He urged the government not to play politics with agriculture noting that the intervention needed now is to ensure that students who are interested in agriculture are given the tools, financial support and the enabling environment to succeed.
The Don called for a peaceful resolution of the crisis caused by the herdsmen.” the block feeds would have prevented the neusance caused by the Fulani herdsmen, that was the intention of the ARCN , but one way or the other, for political reasons the source of funding was blocked but we had given a report of how far we had gone, the project could have resolved some of the crisis the country is going through today, Nigeria is blessed with so many resources that could be harnessed the heardsmen need not be moving around to feed their cattle , it is better to give them N5billion annually to feed the cattle than face the current bloodshed , it is cheaper to make peace than war” he said.
