The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Farmers

  • Govt pledges support for livestock farmers

    Govt pledges support for livestock farmers

    The Federal Government is determined to help livestock farmers generate better yields, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr Akinwumi Adesina has said.

    He spoke at the roll out of the GrowthEnhancement Support (GES) scheme for the Sheep and Goat value chain in Lagos.

    Represented by the state Director, Mrs Kofoworola Adejumo, the Minister said the government was doing a lot to help the feed and food market develop to help the livestock farmers.

    The minister said the government is targeting 5,150 farmers for the sheep and goat value chain under the Growth Enhancement Support(GES) scheme where each farmer is expected to rear at least 10 animals.

    He said the programme is a milestone in the government’s drive to modernise and commercialise agriculture and ensure that farmers are well-positioned and targeted by the programme.

    Under the programme, 150 farmers for ram fattening will receive 10 bags of finished feeds at 50 per cent of the total cost amounting to N18,000, while farmers from the health care will get 10 millilitres of Acaricide and 100 millilitres of de-wormer free.

    The Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Prince Gbolohan Lawal, said the sheep and goat value chain was the second commodity value chain in the livestock sector to roll out support to farmers.

    The Commissioner, who spoke through the Programme Manager, Lagos State Agricultural DevelopmentAuthority(LSADA) Mr Kayode Ashafa said the purpose of the intervention is to contribute more meat to the national need.

    He said the livestock sub-sector has continued to enjoy priority support from the government. To enhance the growth of animal husbandry, the state government has taken steps to boost operations associated with the growth of the sub-sector.

    He said the productivity of the flocks is still hampered by low hatchability, poor peak production and variability in feed quality.

    He said the problems can be managed by implementing stringent breeder farm operating and quality control procedures.

    He said the government is subsiding 50 per cent of the input to farmers.

  • ‘Biofuels helpful to farmers’

    ‘Biofuels helpful to farmers’

    Production of bio-fuel from crops will boost farm produce, the Director, Africa Region Cassava Adding Value to Africa (CAVA), Dr Kola Adebayo, has said.

    He said apart from increasing domestic energy supply, bio-fuels production would induce many farmers to expand their acreage and provide a ready market to farmers to sell their agricultural waste to biomass power plants.

    This is because the operators of biomass plants will utilise a wide range of feedstock including agricultural residues, saying the primary feedstock come from rice crop; residues such as rice husk and rice straw, as well as woodchips.

    He said farmers will be encouraged to prepare their trash to be gathered as biomass feedstock, adding that there are resources, particularly residues from forests, wood processing and agriculture which biomass industries can use to produce electricity that will cater to the needs of the industries, in both urban and rural communities. He said this would provide an opportunity for local farmers to make money.

    Urging the government to encourage more biomass-based projects by introducing a number of policies and schemes to boost the industry, Adebayo said biomass projects are part of an initiative to meet the clean energy needs and reduce chronic power shortages and carbon emissions.

    He urged the government to introduce industry-friendly policies, such as feed-in tariff policy to accelerate investment in renewable energy technologies by offering long-term contracts to renewable energy producers based on the cost of generation of each technology.

    He implored the government to provide project developers with investment incentives, guaranteed minimum prices, power purchase agreements with the utility grid, exemptions pertaining to the import of equipment and certain tax credits.

    Adebayo said there would be challenges associated with meeting feedstock demand, and in some cases, overcoming technical impediments to efficient energy production, adding that there is the challenge of educating and organising the farming community to collect the biomass.

    He said this will be as a result of a general lack of understanding of the fundamental drivers of the industry’s economic viability, which increases the perceived level of risk.

  • Farmers, traders, PFN to endorse candidate next week

    As the November 16 governorship election draws near, market leaders, farmers and members of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) have begun meetings to decide on which candidate to vote for.

    But the groups said favouritism and violence should be discarded, adding that they would work against such ideas.

    Briefing our correspondent yesterday in Awka, the spokesman for the Awka South Market Amalgamated Traders Union (ASMATU), Comrade Obi Ochije, said by next week the groups would decide on who to support.

    He hailed the governorship candidates, their parties and security agencies on the campaigns so far.

    Ochije said it was commendable that there had not been violence.

    He urged parents to discourage their children from being used by politicians to cause violence.

    Ochije warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to be biased, adding that they would not tolerate what happened during the Anambra Central poll in 2011.

    Said he: “We warn INEC to ensure that this election is free, fair and credible because the world is watching.

    “We are aware that the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, is a reliable person. He will not allow some charlatans working with him to mess up the Anambra election.

    “The masses do not have confidence in some of the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), including the one in Anambra State and we are supporting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in calling for his removal.

    “What happened during the Anambra Central election when the REC wanted to change the choice of the masses is an eye opener and the people will not keep quiet again.”

  • Farmers task government on loans

    Farmers task government on loans

    From the members of the Nigeria Cassava Growers Association (Ogun State chapter) has come an appeal to the Federal Government: “We need government intervention to rescue farmers from untoward hardship,” the association stated.

    Making this clarion call on behalf of the association recently was Mr. Olatokunbo Arigbabu.

    Arigbabu, an engineer, said this call became necessary because according to him, “Agriculture, which used to be the mainstay of the economy, has not just been abandoned but the few farmers who have remained committed to farm produce are finding it difficult to survive under the harsh socio-economic condition they are subjected to.”

    “Nigerians have abandoned agriculture for oil but it is not every state that produces oil but every state has the potential to produce food crops for the teaming population. We, therefore, call on the government to come to the aid of the farmers we are facing so many challenges ranging from bad roads to transport our produce from farm to the urban centres, market,” he stressed.

  • ‘Higher costs affecting farmers’profits’

    ‘Higher costs affecting farmers’profits’

    THIS is not the best of times for farmers as higher production costs are wiping out an rise in livestock prices.

    Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Prof Abiodun Adeloye,  said rising production costs are having a significant impact on agriculture.

    According to him, poor weather conditions have reduced the grain harvest potential, leading to an increase in grain and animal feed prices.

    To this end, he said livestock farmers will have to pay higher prices for animal feed meaning  that the volume of feed used on dairy and beef farms will increase.

    Livestock farmers, he maintained, are being hit from both sides as they face higher input costs and lower sales prices for their output.

    Coupled with rising production costs, this means farmers are likely to see their incomes falling. He  said  increasing feed prices will offset the rise in livestock  prices and profitability will remain low.

    He said farmers are grappling with problems of high feed cost and low returns on  production.

    Increase in the feed cost ,he noted followed  increase  in  ingredients such as maize, bajra, soya extracts, groundnut extracts, rapeseed extracts, deoiled rice bran, rice bran and small amounts of certain other components. The prices of all these commodities have gone through the roof, making the cost of feed unviable for farmers.

    According to him, the rise in fuel pump prices has led to a drastic rise in fares, reducing the profit margin. This has led to the increase in transport costs and a surge in prices for some commodities, agricultural produce inclusive.

     

     

     

  • Wanted! Young farmers

    With many of those in charge of farming getting old, there is need for young ones to take over from them. But many youngsters are not interested in farming, because of what they call the challenges. DANIEL ESSIET examines the obstacles on the way of young farmers.

     

    AFTER years of neglect, agriculture is again getting the attention of government, business leaders, communities and development donors as driver of the economy.

    The government is determined to use agriculture to boost the economy, create jobs, reduce poverty, grow enough food for consumption and export. To achieve this objective, there must be those to till the soil. The present generation of farmers is aging, with many of them reaching their retirement age. With their retirement, there is a reduction in the number of farm operators. Who will replace them? This is the big question. attracting and retaining young people on the farm is an age long problem.

    Many factors make farming unattractive to the youth. They include lack of agro-entrepreneurship skills, Land Use Act, access to finance, inadequate infrastructural linkages, poor extension services.

     

    Young farmers

    While the government acknowledges the need to attract young people to the farm, agricultural policies seem inadequate to provide their needs. In many cases, conflicting policies constitute barriers to young people seeking to build their own farm businesses. With almost one-quarter of all farmers expected to retire in the next 20 years, greater focus and resources are required to sustain farming.

    Prospective young farmers face obstacles such as availability and affordability of land and competition from established farms and larger farms.

    Babasola Oyeleye, the Chief Executive, LATOSA Farms, Lagos is a young farmer running a piggery. A young farmer is generally considered to be between 18 and 35 years. Funding is Oyeleye’s biggest challenge.

    According to him, money/capital is the biggest barrier for young people establishing a career in farming. Lack of access to start-up capital and the high costs of acquiring farm equipment, have impaired the prospects of many. Oyeleye wants a government grant scheme to assist genuinely hardworking young entrepreneurs gain a foot on the ladder . He called for specialised or low interest loans ‘to help them through the first year of operation as there is no income from crops for a whole year. He said that as long as there is sufficient funding and support, young farmers can start a farm.

     

    The challenges

    The President, Federated FADAMA community Association, Alhaji Abiodun Oyenekan, said agriculture is seen by many as an unproductive sector, offering few livelihood opportunities. He said to make the sector attractive, the nation needs a special programme devoted to a new generation of farmers. The programme, he noted, should provide young educated people interested in agriculture with training in entrepreneurship.

    Besides, he said the young farmers should be given financial and technological support. According to him, profitable agribusiness is important to keep an emerging farming entrepreneurial group engaged and stop desertion of the sector by young Nigerians.

    If talented young people are to lead the fight for food security, Oyenekan said they must be convinced of agriculture’s potential to provide business openings and opportunities for decent employment.

    The right incentives must be put in place so that they would be willing to go into the sector.

    The Director, Africa Region, Cassava Adding to Africa (CAVA), Dr. Kola Adebayo, said young farmers should be encouraged to start mini-livestock businesses.

     

    Access to farm land

    There are rising concerns about land tenure system. Access to farm land is restricted. The Programme Coordinator, Farmers Development Union (FADU), Mr Victor Olowe, attributed this to the land tenure system. Besides, the sector is confronting surging farmland prices, which, according to him, has compounded the difficulties young farmers must overcome.

    As a result, a growing number of young farmers choose to rent land before taking on the fixed costs associated with land purchases. Olowe said the government should make efforts to expand opportunities and remove barriers for young farmers and those who wish to pursue a career in agriculture.

    With the average age of the Nigerian farmer put at 55, Oyenekan said ensuring that the next generation of farmers is able to provide the nation with a safe, abundant supply of food should be a top priority.To accomplish this goal, he said the government should provide youths with the training and tools they need to set up their own farms.

    Oyenekan said the government should help new and aspiring farmers’ access land to start or expand their farming operations. He said the law should give priority to preserving farmland that is accessible and affordable to new farmers.

     

    Financial conditions

    Although agricultural lending seems to be rising, obtaining finance still appears to be more difficult for young farmers. This is because they have less equity. On the balance, young and beginning farmers present greater risks to commercial banks. As a result, they face tighter credit markets and higher collateral requirements than more-experienced farmers.

    Generally, financing is needed to enable farmers use improved input and better on-farm practices to increase supplies and improve yields, as well as generate enhancements in quality and better post-harvest practices. Across the country, lack of access to finance continues to persist especially for farmers despite recurring interventions attempted both by the public and the private sectors. Lending to the agricultural sector is unattractive due to high costs, high risk, and low returns.

    The Director, African Region, Cassava Adding Value for Africa(C:AVA), Dr Kola Adebayo, told The Nation that the government and banks need to adapt agricultural finance to reflect agricultural cash flow cycles.

    He said young farmers face challenges in securing finance for farming businesses because many banks don’t participate in agric lending. To bankers, young farmers present greater risk. For this reason, banks require additional collateral for farmland purchases.

    Adebayo said only youths in groups can access loans now, adding that non profitability of production agriculture has played a critical role in credit quality and quantity at banks.

    Stakeholders complained that they work with loan officers with little or no knowledge of agriculture. Because of this, they can only treat loan requests on working capital; investment, machinery, and equipment for various activities, such as crop production, animal husbandry (meat or dairy production), aquaculture, chicken farming, and apiculture. Besides, farmers on arable crop farming are not favoured.

    Oyenekan said the presence of microfinance institutions have not been felt in the agric sector, adding that minimalist microfinance is not enough as credit alone is insufficient to raise agricultural productivity.

    Addressing a forum organised by Lagos Business School, the Managing Director, Best Foods, Mr Emmanuel Ijewere, said when banks understand farmers, they will be able to structure their payment schedules and better evaluate their repayment capacity.

    Unlike with typical short-term loan schemes, he said agricultural loan products must reflect the unique characteristics of agricultural production. Products, he noted, must cater for seasonal production with long and diverse gestation periods.

    He said agriculture is very seasonal with long gestation periods, from planting or livestock birth to harvest or slaughter. The result is that cash flows are highly seasonal and sometimes irregular, with earnings concentrated in certain times of the year.

     

    Long-term financing

    Olowe said there are challenges to farmers looking for long-term financing for investments in agro businesses such as planting of cocoa or cashew trees. This is because cocoa takes three years before it can bear fruits. Banks have few instruments at their disposal to manage the risks arising from the agricultural sector.

    However, agricultural borrowers’ assets are less suitable as collateral. In fact, farmers and their producer associations frequently lack the collateral traditionally required by banks for larger and longer-term loans.

    Due to legal and administrative impediments as well as cultural factors, rural assets are often not registered and consequently may be more difficult to foreclose and sell. Even where these constraints are less binding, collateral is a poor protection against massive defaults due to covariant risks.

    For banks, the primary source of repayment is usually the farm’s conversion of working capital into cash flow through the production season. If, for some reasons, this conversion fails to generate sufficient cash flow to service the loan requirements, the bank has to consider other options, many of which are still dependent on the farmers’ ability to generate cash flow or liquidate various assets to repay the loan.

    For some banks, agricultural financing involves higher transaction costs than in urban areas given distances, lower population densities, and lower quality infrastructure.

    Together, these factors make it hard to aggregate agricultural loans into portfolios that make branches viable. In addition, it can be costly to have branches and staff in remote areas handling small transactions.

     

    Prospects

    Recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) emphasised on banks’ lending to agriculture. Rising demand for agricultural commodities as well as increased competition in urban areas have prompted financial institutions to reconsider working with this sector.

    Lenders are beginning to recognise the growing potential and profitability of lending to agricultural enterprises.

    Lagos Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, has been on the vanguard of bringing more young people into farming by providing low-interest loans and transfer programmes geared toward the younger generation to help obtain farmland and build up their operation.

    Lawal said the new agricultural entrepreneurs are the cornerstone of a vibrant rural Lagos and the future of agriculture. He said the Lagos State government was ready to support young Nigerians to make a living through agriculture.

     

    States’ support for agric

    To tackle the high rate of unemployment in Imo State, Governor Rochas Okorocha launched the Youth Must Work programme aimed at engaging and empowering all unemployed youths in the state.

    As part of the action plan mapped out for the programme, the state government had set aside an interest-free loan of N5 billion for thrift arrangement, which will aid the youths to set up integrated farming in their communities.

    Okorocha stated that one of the cardinal objectives of the programme is to develop the economy of the state through agriculture for which the state government had provided one hectare of land in each of the 560 communities in the state.

    The Lagos State Agriculture Youth Empowerment Scheme, popularly known as “Agric-YES” aimed at empowering youths, has far empowered over 300 youths with an additional 100 participants undergoing training at the moment. The overall aim of the scheme is to breed a new generation of agro-entrepreneurs in poultry, fish farming, bee-keeping and all season vegetable farming.

    Students of the institute go through six months training and internship before they are allowed to take off.

    Rice for job is another lucrative project that has helped to provide job opportunities to most youths as well as increase the volume of rice produced in the state.

    One of the beneficiaries of the Rice for Job project, Mr. Adeniyi Ayino, said the programme has helped him a lot, adding that he could now operate a tractor very well and work perfectly as a rice farmer.

    Also, Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has said the vision of his administration to make the state the food basket of the Southwest as well as generate 50 per cent of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from the agriculture sector by next year would soon become a reality as some of the agric programmes put in place by his administration are already coming to fruition.

    The state has achieved eight different projects under the Youth Commercial Agriculture Development (YCAD) programme spread across different parts of the state.These include fish farms in Efon, YCAD Nursery point at Igede and cassava plantation in Iyemero, the Farmer’s Academy at Isan Ekiti, among others. He expressed satisfaction that the YCAD participants are up, doing and are working towards a shift from subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture..

    The Special Assistant on Media and Strategy, Office of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Kayode Oyeleye, said the government is providing young entrepreneurs opportunities to take part in decent agricultural work for food security and poverty reduction. This, he explained, informed the idea of Youth Empowerment through Agriculture Programme (YEAP).

    He said YEAP is intended to fashion out programmes adaptable to the youth to encourage them to invest in agriculture, with support from the government. Although two states (Lagos and Ekiti) have started youth programmes in agriculture at various times, the Federal Government will work with all stakeholders to expand the scope and coverage to span through the entire country.

    Besides, agriculture experts from Germany have commenced training of youths across the 30 local government councils of Osun State. A statement by the Director, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr. Dapo Ajayi, said the training programme was approved by Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

    The statement said 48 youths would be picked from among those trained across the councils and sent to Germany for further training. The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Wale Adedoyin, and a special adviser in the ministry, Mr. Dele Ogundipe, said 40 of the 48 selected youths, who showed proficiency in the German language, would make the trip.

     

    Recommendations

    Adebayo said financing agriculture is more effective when it is part of a broader package that combines both financial and non-financial services to the farmers with the objective of improving yields and quality and ensuring access to markets for selling their produce.

    He said the government should create a new programme that would make loans available to young, start-ups and old farmers seeking capital to help cover start-up costs, such as purchasing seeds land, buildings, equipment, or livestock.

    Oyenekan stressed the need for a national fund to support and provide loans to youths who are interested in starting agricultural businesses. According to him, the Youth Fund will be an important means to curb the problem of youth unemployment.

    He supports the government in allocating money to fund youth’s entrepreneurial spirit, but said for the programme to be successful it should be managed by young people who can inject new ideas to tackle the unemployment problem.

    Adebayo said the funding programme will be used as a complement to existing efforts that help finance and empower youths to create their own employment opportunities.

    Oyenekan said the government should support young farmers through equipment finance rather than give them cash.

    Adebayo said the government should be encouraging young farmers to invest in mini-value added agro enterprises. The Government and donors, he added, should provide grants to farmers to scale up their businesses and add value to their products in order to meet surging consumer demand for high quality, farm-based, value-added food products.

    He said the government should support new agriculture entrepreneurs, by investing in training programmes and grants to help farmers capture more of the retail food through value-added enterprises.

     

  • Sokoto lifts farmers

    Tokoto State Government is to sell 15,500 tonnes of fertiliser in conjunction with the Federal Government to farmers in the state.

    Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko disclosed this at Rabah Local Government Council while launching this year’s sale of the commodity.He said his government has subsidisedthe commodity by 70 percent.

    “By this subsidy, MPK fertiliser would cost N1,700 while Urea type would be sold at N1,800 ”, he added.

    Governor Wamakko warned those entrusted with the sale of the commodity to be just and honest as only genuine farmers would benefit from the exercise.

    He said government had continued to subsidise the agricultural sector so that farmers would produce more food for the country and also improve their own income.

    The governor said the state government has purchased some farming implements to replace hoes .

    He urged farmers to take advantage of the new implements and modernise their farming methods, improve seed varieties and boost food production.

    Governor Wamakko said his administration has introduced many incentives to farmers as well as established a college of agriculture all in an attempt to boost agriculture.

    He said as part of his honest resolve to improve agricultural activities in the state, three billion Naira had been disbursed to farmers so far by his administration.

    The Governor added that arrangement had been concluded to disburse another two billion Naira loan to commercial farmers while modalities are being worked out to give two billion Naira again to farmers who engage in rice production.

     

  • Vitamin A cassava stem for 15 million farmers

    Vitamin A cassava stem for 15 million farmers

    •10 million stems arrive

    No fewer than 15 million farmers are to receive the new discovered vitamin “A” cassava stem from a non-governmental organisation, Harvest plus based in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State.

    The country director of the organisation, Dr. Paul Ilona, announced this yesterday at Ihudum Primary School in Ihiala Local Government Council Area of Anambra State where two communities received lorry loads of the specie.

    Ilona stated that Anambra, as one of the pilot States in the South East Zone, will receive at least three million cassava stems, which will be distributed to farmers in all the local councils this planting season.

    He said the vitamin “A” cassava species originated from Brazil and have been subjected to several laboratory tests in Nigeria by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan and the National Research Institute (NRI) Umudike Abia State.

    He added the first batch of ten million tons of the cassava stems have also arrived the country for distribution in the six selected states in the six geographical zones of the country from now till October.

    Ilona explained that the new vitamin “A” cassava stem will enable farmers to mass produce and augment the local cassava specie.

    The yellow stem, according to him, contains very low carbohydrate and is rich in other nutrients that build the immune system.

    He said it will help to reduce the starchy food intake, which he said is detrimental to health.

     

  • Stay off our affairs, Ondo farmers tell govt official

    Farmers in Ondo State, under the aegis of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), have told a top official of the Ministry of Agriculture to stop meddling in their affairs.

    In a statement by its President, Evang. Joshua Oyedele, and the Financial Secretary, Chief Oruwa Dada, AFAN urged Governor Olusegun Mimiko to call the official to order.

    It urged the official to account for the association’s fund.

    The association alleged that the official was only “interested in supervising farmers’ money but does not care about their welfare and productivity.

    It urged the official to tell the public how the association’s N23 million was spent.

    AFAN said of the N23 million budgeted for the association last year, the ministry released only N7 million to the group.

    It said it owes the official no explanation on how it spent the N7 million because he is not a member of the association and the members have not complained.

    The farmers said they had been finding it difficult to access their fund since the official assumed office.

    They said: “Anytime we have a programme, he tells us to go and withdraw money from our account, even after the government has released money to him for the programme.”

    The official could not be reached on phone, but a source at the ministry denied the allegations.

  • The new Mad Cow Disease- ‘Blood Cow Meat’; ‘Operation Save Our Farmers’

    It is so difficult to write about our failed governance, power supply, education system, intra and intercity roads when just around the corner the ravage of war tear populations apart where there is no war declared – only ‘emergency’. In medicine, in every other country, except in Nigeria, an ‘emergency’ is a very urgent matter. In the military ‘an emergency’ is a task that must be done with necessary force. After all, the various enemies are equipped with modern weapons of war courtesy of Nigeria’s gunrunners from the uncivil civil war, to the more current Libyans, Chadian jihadists, and Maghreb rebels among others. The weaponry is frightening.

    When two guns fire at each other we hear of superior power, ambush, outflanking, fleeing, bullet wounds, blood and death. The dead and the dying lie distorted in or near their graves. We trivialise death even of our neighbours because we are not directly killed or left with a bleeding machete or gunshot wound. Witness a fatal road crash. The main offenders, the commercial vehicles, slow down, pray for themselves, not for the victims and race away at murderous speed above the speed of sound and legal limit, all lessons of the recent dead lost on them. How many fewer lessons will be learnt at a bomb blast scene with body parts and blood and wreckage strewn for hundreds of yards? Compound this with the serial killing of farmers to force them off their land in indigene/settler disputes. Add to that the serial killing of other farmers just to allow passing cows to devour their hard labour produce on the way to the dining tables of millions of carnivorous families, many of whom claim they will ‘die’ if they do not eat meat every day.

    But why is that luxury a lethal luxury? Why should fellow Nigerians think that it is their right to kill other fellow Nigerians just to fatten cows of the North-South cattle run? Surely a cow or a herd is severely overpriced if it costs a single human life? How can any sane citizen feed himself, his wife and his children with cow meat that he can see from his daily newspaper costs the life or lives of hundreds of farmers and destruction of the family farm and other property and livelihood every year? If that is not a new form of ‘Mad Cow Disease’ then what is?

    In the entire world there is nowhere where such human sacrifice is an acceptable price for an animal’s safe passage to the dining table. It is cannibalism through the backdoor.

    We are going to have to call a halt to this mayhem with fasting and praying to reverse this Mad Cow Disease. Nigerians need to begin to ask questions about the origin of their cow meat. Was the trail safe and free of bloodshed? Are these cows ‘ethically’ or ‘fatally’ fattened? We should encourage pre fattening at point of origin and mass transit methods like trailer transport and the train as alternatives to the rampant cycle of murder and retaliation on the farmland/cow tracks borders. Anyone seeking permanent solutions should read Wale Okediran’s Tenants of the House which elegantly tackles this recurrent nightmare. Nigerians should fast from cow meat for one month in the first instance until both cattle tenders and farmers come to their senses. If we stop buying this blood meat, like blood diamonds, the trade will be forced to sanitise itself. Your and my personal greed to have cow meat on our tables must be suppressed in the over-riding national interest to curb this ugly food violence now being capitalised on by ethnic, religious, political and other divisive agenda-seeking groups. How can a cow in your pot be adequate compensation for a farmer, his wife and children being buried beside his yam heaps? Such a prayerful fast is not a boycott, but a responsible act of self-denial in response to a strange paradox –the cow being more valued than the fellow Nigerian!

    What country values its cows heading for slaughter more than the backbone of the nation, its farmers? For those who cannot fast from meat, there is always a substitute for cow meat-goat, chicken, fish, sheep, turkey and I am told lizard! All these conflicts are the ingredients put together to make the stew that is Nigeria. For how long will Nigerians extract and pay such a high price, life and death, to eat meat at the table of luxury? We may run out of farmers before we run out of cattle. At the end of the day, and the quicker the better, the Nigerian nation must decide who is more valuable –the farmer and his crops ready for harvest or the cowherd and his cow ready for slaughter -whose slaughter? They may even be socially and politically equal but my medical background tells me Nigeria can survive without cow protein but not without fruit and vegetables, rice, cassava and yam. There are substitutes for cow meat but not for a farmer’s produce? None! Farmers already are facing sufficient challenges and too many have left the job further reducing national land productivity. Should more be killed by herdsmen? We need an emergency ‘Operation Save Our Farmers From Decimation’! Let us fast from cow meat till a truce. If the cows do not die, the farmers will not either. It is new economics ‘Cow-Conomics’