A state in Nigeria is introducing drones to help monitor cattle movement and tackle the farmers-herdsmen crisis

The Osun State government said it is planning to introduce drones to monitor and track the movement of live stocks in the State.

According to iAfrikan, Oluremi Omowaiye, Osun State Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, made the announcement during the ICTEL Expo 2018 in Lagos, weeks ago.

Omowaiye said the state government will launch the drones in the coming weeks.

How it will work

The Rauf Aregbesola-led State government said it has built a call centre and obtained a short code from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) which farmers and other residents can use to track the movement of live stocks in the environs.

The drones will help farmers as well as curtail frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the Southwest region of Nigeria.

Nigeria's herder-farmer clashes claimed more lives than Boko Haram insurgency in 2018

According to International Crisis Group, the conflict between farmers and herders in Nigeria is now the nation’s biggest security threat.

In the last 6 months, the crisis has claimed the lives of 1,300 people and several injuries sustained compared to an estimated 200 deaths related to Boko Haram in the same period.

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