Agriculture is the planting of crops and rearing of animals. Even if
there are enough white-collar jobs to go round and we all get 6-digit
salaries, we would all starve without agriculture. Imagine getting to
the market and meeting only fellow salary earners but no food to buy.
The farmer-herdsmen clashes are therefore highly unfortunate and
should be eradicated before everybody runs to Libya. How will young
people be encouraged to stay here and farm in an atmosphere of danger?
There is an easy solution to the problem. Cattle are reared in ranches
in developed countries and they produce more meat and milk than our
cattle.
The money used for buying AK-47 rifles should be used to buy lawn
mowers, fuel (to power them) and trucks (for transporting grass).
Herdsmen should leave their cattle in ranches and go around in trucks
with mowers to cut weeds and grasses, pile them into their vehicles
and transport them to their cattle. For example, school football
fields and the space between the lanes of dual carriageways across
Nigeria contain plenty of grass to be mowed for cattle. (Herding
cattle across expressways to eat the grass can obstruct traffic and
cause terrible accidents). I'm sure all these cost less than an AK-47
rifle.
Who will not be pleased at finding his farm (or house surroundings)
weeded free of charge without a single crop trampled or eaten? (The
herdsmen will also be getting free grass in return). On the other
hand, cattle bred in one place put on more flesh and produce more
milk (like European cows) than cows herded around which burn up what
they eat as they walk about from place to place. They will also be
better guarded in ranches against cattle rustlers than in the open
forests. So it is a win-win situation for both parties.
Only humans can differentiate between crops and weeds; cows and other
animals can't. No matter how much you beat them into order,some of
them will still eat or trample on crops.
We need both meat and crops in this country. Let's put on our thinking
caps and prove to Donald Trump that we are not a "shithole country".
No comments:
Post a Comment