Representatives of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Taraba State Chapter, and the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), alongside traditional rulers and civil society organisations, have pledged their commitment to a collaborative implementation process aimed at promoting peace, productivity, and resilience in the livestock sector.

The commitment was made on Tuesday during the Stakeholder Engagement Plan Validation Workshop under the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (L-PRES) Project in Taraba State.

Participants reaffirmed their resolve to back an implementation framework designed to strengthen harmony between farmers and pastoralists while boosting livestock productivity in Taraba and across Nigeria.

Organised by Global Peace Development (GPD) in collaboration with the state L-PRES team, with support from the World Bank, stakeholders at the forum vowed to work assiduously to ensure the successful validation and execution of the Stakeholder Engagement Plan.

Speaking, Director of Programmes at GPD, Faith Prince, described the workshop as a critical milestone toward ensuring that the L-PRES project is implemented in an inclusive, transparent, and responsive manner that reflects the needs of actors across the livestock value chain.

She emphasised that stakeholder engagement must not be treated as a one-off consultation but as a continuous and structured process that guarantees meaningful participation of institutions and communities throughout the project lifecycle — from planning and implementation to monitoring and evaluation.

The validation workshop, The Guardian gathered, was convened to review and affirm findings from earlier roundtable discussions and field analyses conducted in the state.

Participants were tasked with agreeing on consultation and communication structures to guide project implementation, defining institutional roles and coordination channels, and confirming grievance redress and feedback mechanisms at both state and community levels.

Also speaking, Executive Director of GPD, Ebruke Onajite Esike, said the workshop was necessary to validate the report of the roundtable discussion held in Taraba last month.

Esike disclosed that data for the engagement plan were drawn from both Adamawa and Taraba states, stressing that the development of a comprehensive grievance redress protocol can no longer be overemphasised.

He urged stakeholders to give maximum support to the L-PRES initiative to ensure it achieves its goals and delivers tangible impact across communities.

Supporting the positions of both Prince and Esike, Danjuma Mohammed noted that presenting engagement findings and reviewing institutional recommendations had become imperative to strengthening coordination and ensuring effective project delivery.

The L-PRES project, The Guardian learnt, is expected to play a significant role in reducing tensions, enhancing livestock productivity, and building long-term resilience within affected communities in Taraba State and beyond.