Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, has joined forces with the University of Copenhagen in Denmark alongside key industry players to roll out a comprehensive research initiative designed to uplift pastoralist livelihoods, strengthen climate adaptation, and curb persistent farmer-herder clashes across Nigeria.
Titling the initiative the SCREEN Project, the study centers on the Damau Household Milk Farm situated in Kubau Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Researchers will evaluate how settling pastoral communities and upgrading dairy production methods influence household economic wellbeing, milk output, climate resilience, and communal harmony between crop farmers and livestock herders.
What are the primary targets of the SCREEN Project?
Sanni Abdullahi, an Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics and the Nigerian coordinator for the undertaking, explained that the study will produce empirical data regarding project interventions while offering strategic policy guidance to optimize pastoral farming systems.
According to Abdullahi, baseline surveys covering 736 households in Damau have already been completed. This sample includes 256 beneficiary households and 488 non-beneficiary households, allowing researchers to accurately measure project impacts.
The multidisciplinary research program encompasses two major studies involving various departments across ABU and the University of Copenhagen. Furthermore, the initiative will build local academic capacity by funding postgraduate training for seven PhD and seven Master of Science candidates specializing in Agricultural Economics, Genetics, Veterinary Sciences, Nutrition, Mass Communication, Political Science, and Sociology.
How do different academic disciplines contribute?
ABU is deploying expertise from its Faculties of Agriculture and Social Sciences, as well as the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, ensuring a holistic approach to the socioeconomic and environmental hurdles facing pastoral populations.
The investigation explores whether settling pastoralists and modernizing livestock husbandry can foster sustainable livelihoods, improve access to formal education, healthcare facilities, and commercial markets, alleviate child malnutrition, and resolve poor milk yields.
Additionally, the project investigates how enhanced fodder cultivation, inclusive cooperative frameworks, and advanced herd management can alleviate agricultural friction.
Sociological evaluations will analyze the correlation between sedentarisation and farmer-herder friction, focusing particularly on feed systems and local peacebuilding mechanisms. Meanwhile, political science experts will evaluate how inclusive cooperatives foster climate resilience by analyzing governance structures and the interplay between traditional leadership and modern institutions.
Agricultural economists will calculate the financial and human capital needed for pastoral families to thrive economically, while mass communication researchers will study how herders adopt modern husbandry techniques, evaluating the success of training workshops and the blending of traditional wisdom with scientific methods.
Nutrition specialists are tasked with analyzing the nutritional composition of various grasses and crops alongside zero-grazing feeding models. Veterinary and genetics researchers will monitor animal health care programs and test the adaptability and milk-yielding capacity of imported cattle breeds within the Nigerian environment.
Ultimately, the SCREEN Project seeks to enhance institutional research capabilities at ABU while equipping policymakers and international development organizations with reliable data concerning rural livelihoods, gender dynamics, and climate mitigation strategies.