ECOWAS
Commission has urged herdsmen in the region to obtain the community's
International Transhumance Certificate (ITC) before embarking on grazing
movements.
This
measure, according to ECOWAS Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and
Water Resources, Tchambakou Ayassor, has become necessary to allow for easy
identification by officials, of animals moving from one country to the other
including their grazing route and destinations.
This,
he said, would help prevent clashes that often occur between herdsmen,
trans-border authorities and even farmers.
The
commissioner also enjoined farmers and stakeholders in the transhumance
sub-sector to restrain from violence but use the available judiciary machinery
in dealing with conflicts that could arise from the practice of their trade.
President
of the ECOWAS Commission, Marcel de Souza, had earlier expressed concern over
the growing number of incidents linked to transhumance in several Member States
including Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria.
Speaking
at the First Ordinary Session of the 4th Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament,
de Souza said these incidents have led to the death of thousands and may
constitute a new threat to regional security, given the increased number of
clashes between farmers and nomadic cattle breeders.
Transhumance
in the ECOWAS region is an essential activity for safeguarding and increasing
agricultural production and livelihoods as an integral part of the region's
agriculture, food security, and poverty reduction policy.
It
has the potential of sustaining Sahelian herds, contributing to regional
integration, as well as the rich supply of livestock products to the ever
growing urban centres and the coastal areas.
However,
despite these benefits, the transhumance livestock production system has
challenges of trans-boundary animal diseases, socio-political upheavals, and in
some instances environmental degradation where there is a lack of appropriate
regulation.
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