Fears are heightening across the country over a looming food crisis
brought about by the security challenge in parts of the country and the
persistent murderous attacks on farmers by gunmen.More and more farmers are fleeing the villages for the safer cities while food merchants and traders as well as transporters are developing cold feet venturing into the hinterland to bring food to town and city dwellers.
Only last weekend, no fewer than 20 farmers were allegedly killed at Ngamgam in Mobar Local Government Area of Borno State by suspected members of the terror sect, Boko Haram.
Reports from the area said the terrorists accused the villagers of giving information about their operations and movement to the military.
The development, according to sources, is forcing more people from the land, thus worsening an already bad situation in states like Yobe, Borno and Adamawa.
The situation is similar in Zamfara,Katsina and Sokoto States where the activities of gunmen continue to send cod shivers down the spines of farmers.
All the six states together with Benue, Plateau, Niger and Taraba are key agricultural centres.
Apart from the gunmen attacks in the Northwest and the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast,the Tiv/Jukun crisis in Taraba State and the herdsmen mayhems in other parts of the country continue to threaten the agricultural sector.
Five persons were killed on Tuesday at Rafinkada Village of Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State in the latest of the Tiv/Jukun crisis.
Mr. Daniel Adi, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Council alleged that gunmen in army camouflage attacked Rafinkada and set several houses ablaze.
A soldier injured in the attack is said to be currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in Wukari.
Spokesman for the Taraba State Police Command, DSP David Missal ,confirmed the incident, but said only one person killed.
Nothing, it seems,illustrates the food crisis better than the present prostrate condition of the Baga fish market in Maiduguri.
It specializes in the distribution and sale of smoked fish from the Lake Chad.
Until the Boko Haram insurgency broke out 10 years,the Baga market stood out in West Africa as, perhaps the biggest of its type,attracting traders and buyers not only from different parts of Nigeria but from as far as Niger Republic,Chad,Sudan and the Central Africa Republic.
Today, the market is a shadow of its former self. Patronage has gone down drastically, no thanks to Boko Haram whose wanton destruction of lives and property has scared traders and buyers away.
“This market is now longer what it used to be. It has suffered” Alhaji Abatcha Madalama, the Chairman, Fish Producers/ Market Association Borno State told The Nation at the market.
He added: “Just look at the few traders now unlike before when it would be difficult even to enter or walk within the market.
“It is close to 10 years now that we have suffered in this market because of the Boko Haram crisis.”
Only daring transporters venture beyond Maiduguri to go and bring fish and other food items for sale.
A spokesman for the Road Transport Union at the Baga Fish Market, Buba Ibrahim,said drivers take tortuous and risky routes to make their daily bread.
The spokesman of the Road Transport Union at the Baga Fish Market, Buba Ibrahim explained that transporters have to travel from Gamboru Ngala, Difa in Niger Republic through Fotokol in Camareron to Yola before coming back to Maiduguri which is more than 1,600km as against 133km from Gamaboru to Maiduguri.
Buba also informed that sometimes the drivers have to take the risk of following Gamboru road to bribed their way through security checks to reach Maiduguri.
A fish dealer said: “What we normally do is to follow the road to Baga and buy the fish in Niger Republic and send it through Maine Sorowa, Geidam, Gashua and Damaturu while we come back through the same route back to Maiduguri to wait for the fish to arrive. It takes up to a week sometimes for the fish to arrive or even more. Sometime you may get unlucky at Geidam and the soldiers will seize your fish. But the soldiers at Giedam are not as strict with the fish like the ones we have in Maiduguri.”
Our losses in Taraba are colossal , says Farmers Association chairman
The people of Taraba state were still counting their losses from the herders/farmers clashes when the latest communal crisis between Jukun and Tiv speaking people of Wukari and other areas of southern Taraba erupted.
As the Jukun/Tiv feud ravaged, Fulani and Kona people in the northern tip of Taraba also unsheathed swords and began to attack and kill each other.
Dozens of people have been killed, many injured and hundreds of thousands displaced after their ancestral homes have burnt down. While Jukun, Tiv and Kona ethnic groups are predominantly farmers, Fulani are the major breeders of cattle.
The two crises, which are still ongoing, have stopped farmers from going to their farms. The people have to rely on the storage of last season. Yet, over 50percent of those foods have been destroyed in barns and stores.
The Taraba State Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Bala Tawah, told The Nation that Taraba State, no doubt, is going to experience hunger due to scarcity of food because of the crises. Tawah said, already “the signs (of food scarcity) are visible.”
He said “I was counting the losses from the herders/farmers clashes and holding talks with my counterparts on what to do when came the ongoing communal clashes between Jukun and Tiv in Wukari local government area and Fulani and Kona in Jalingo and Ardo-Kola areas of Taraba state.
“All these crises are having a colossal effect on Taraba state. This is because Taraba is predominantly an agricultural state. And 80percent of farming activities are not carried out in towns but in remote rural areas. Now, the crises have dislodged all or most of the villagers who are farmers.
“The negative effect is devastating. And the impact of these crises, if not felt today, shall surely be felt in three years to come. This is because, we are in the rainy season and the people who should be in their farmers are driven away and killed. Hectares of arable lands are being left uncultivated. Our market women cannot fetch any farm produce and take to the market to exchange for money.
“The situation is so pathetic that it has broken down the social and economic life of the state. The losses are enormous, so we cannot continue like this. We advocate for peace.
“The Wukari Yam Market used to be a hub where farmers from different places, including Benue, used to bring a lot of yam and other farm produce for sale. Buyers used to come from different states of the country. But the market has been deserted.
“The Kwararafa or Dan Anacha Yam Market in Gassol is being deserted and farmers are being threatened as the crisis expands. Mutum-Biyu, Garba Chede, Mararaban Zing and other markets where farm produce were sold are now becoming empty. The sellers and buyers are not coming.
“We are relying on the food stuff we store last year (to eat). And more worrisome is the fact that over 50 percent of the food stuffs have been burnt in the crises,” he said.
On the way forward, Tawah suggested that “the warring groups must understand the critical situation on ground. The youth must be educated and engaged in meaningful things. We must engage religious leaders to help build peace.”
“Our politicians should all go home and appeal to their constituents on the need for peace, bearing in mind that without the people, you cannot be a leader; you can’t lead when your people are all killed.
Fed. Govt should intervene in Plateau – Bassa, women farmers
Statistics from farmers in Bassa Local Government area of Plateau State on the destruction of farming by herders look frightening.
According to them,347 farmlands were destroyed in the area by herdsmen between the last quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018 alone.
In all, 26 villages were allegedly attacked with 99 residents killed and 44 injured.
The state chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Mr. John Wuyep wants the federal government to “wake up and restore stiff security at the borders.”
He added: “They (FG) should reactivate the Lake Chad basin, because if there is water in Lake Chad these herders will not come down to the Middle Belt to look for water.”
“I don’t think government has any plan for food security in the state, but the issue is not limited to the state government, the failure of the federal government at the border is taking its toll on the state.
“My members will access agricultural loan, invest it on their farms and the whole thing is destroyed by herdsmen. That has been our predicament. There is nothing like food security and the impact will result in severe famine in our communities sooner or later.”
The Small Scale Women Farmers Association in Plateau (SWOFON) said fears of attack by gunmen have scared women from participating in agriculture.
Its chairperson, Mrs Mary Afan,said: “a number of our members have been killed on the farm; majority are already scared of going to farm, and most of our members are widows who depend on their small farms to feed their children.
“In an environment where men are being attacked and killed, what will be the fate of women? “We will struggle to get money to purchase fertilizer, cultivate the farm and by the time you are expecting harvest, these gunmen will emerge and wipe them off”
“These herdsmen will not only target farms for destruction, they go to launch attack on villagers, set their homes ablaze and destroy barns,so that if the villagers escape being killed, they will not escape hunger. Such attacks on barns have been rampant in Bokkos, Riyom, and Bassa Local Government Areas.
The herders have their own complaints.
They allege that gunmen deliberately go after cows and kill them on the allegation that they ate up their crops.
We need security for farmers in Niger, says AFAN
Like their counterparts in other food basket states, farmers in Niger State have a lot of stories to tell about their ordeals in the hands of bandits who threaten not only their means of livelihood but also their lives.
The state is well known for yam, rice, millet, corn and bean production.
But all that is now changing according to the state Chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Idris Abini.
He said: “Farming is the main source of income of our people, but now, fear does not allow them to go to their farms because of bandits.”
“We now have farmers being discouraged from farming, not that they do not want to farm.They want to but security of life comes first.
“If they are not there in the farm, naturally, there will be no production. The food sufficiency which we were already attaining is being affected. This is the most negative result.”
He pleaded with government to provide adequate security for the farmers to make them feel secured and provide relief materials in terms of farm products that have been lost.
Also speaking, the state Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Alhaji Shehu Galadima said “where there is no peace, nothing will happen. Where there are attacks, people will not have the chance to farm because so many questions will run through their minds like, are they safe? Are they secured?”
“You do not expect farmers to remain where they are after being attacked. They are not feeling safe and secured to go to the farms, so the only option is to abandon their farms.”
He said government should encourage herders to remain on their grazing route and desist from encroaching on farmlands.
Ondo farmers need protection from herders’ onslaught
Farmers in Ondo State are asking government to protect them and their farms from continued onslaught by herdsmen.
They believe this is the only way to guarantee uninterrupted food production across the state.
The National President of Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria(CFAN) ,Adeola Adegoke,who is also a food crops producer warned that encroachment on farmlands by herders would lead to serious food scarcity in the country.
He urged government to be proactive in curtailing the menace so that farmers can work under a conducive atmosphere to produce enough food crops for human consumption.
A judge of the State High Court, Justice Micheal Owoyemi , said “these herdsmen are determined to send farmers out of their farms unless steps are taken by concerned authorities. What they have destroyed are worth millions of naira.
Another farmer, Victory Oweh, said he lost crops on a 10 acre of farmland to cattle.
He said “Ondo State Government should follow the steps taken by the Ekiti State Government by enacting laws to curb the activities of herdsmen”
No respite from herders’ attacks in Ekiti
The Secretary of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria(AFAN) in Ekiti State, Mr. Rotimi Kolawole,says there is in respite yet from attacks by herders on farms and farmers in the state.
Many farmers, according to him ,have been destroyed by herdsmen who,he said continue to unleash their animals on farms.
Recounting his own personal experience in the hands of herders,Kolawole said: “sometime last year, I was at my maize farm at Orin-Ekiti with my friends to check on the farm.At a point in the night we saw herdsmen leading their cattle toward the farm.
“We approached them diplomatically that they should redirect the cattle to other places but they insisted that they would eat the maize.
“We were cautious in our approach because they could do anything.
“We had to start harvesting the maize that night.”
Kolawole also cited the case of a rice farmer in Iludun Ekiti whose entire farm was eaten up by cattle.
He said the victim had to take the matter to court and verdict is being awaited
He said that incessant invasion of farms by gun-wielding herdsman has forced off the land.
He also urged government at all levels to organize stakeholders meetings where issues bordering on herders/farmers clashes can be discussed and solutions worked out.
2000 Oyo farmers hit by herders’ encroachment
No fewer than 2000 farmers in Oyo State are said to have been victims of herders’ encroachment.
Their farms were destroyed in the process, according to the state Chairman, All Farmers Association ( AFA), Engr. Olumide Ayinla.
Ayinla himself is a victim.He said his farm at Lanlate in the Ibarapa area was recently destroyed by cows.
About 100 acres of farmland at Iroko /Ijaye , in Akinyele Local government area of Oyo state were similarly affected,he said..
He said herders even went as far as setting farms on fire after their cattle had eaten up the crops found there.
Another farmer and retired deputy registrar of the University of Ibadan, Pastor Odedele Samuel Adeyemo, said the destructive activities of the herdsmen was forcing people to abandon their farms after spending a lot of money to set them up.
He said strenuous efforts made by farmers to protect their farms with bamboo , binding wire and planks are often sabotaged by herders.
He said: “We fought, and they will go there at night, cut the binding wire ,cut the bamboo or pull down others, so as to enter the land and continue the destruction of our crops .
“And anywhere where these animals grazed last year, there’s nothing that can be produced there this year. The crop rotation is not available in most of Akinyele area especially in Iroko area because they eat up everything. The crop rotation that is well acceptable in agricultural practice is no longer there. They eat everything.
“After my retirement, I encouraged my children, my younger brother and their friends to acquire land for agricultural purposes, and that is what we do, majorly in planting farm seedlings obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture, Field crop Development Unit Secretariat Ibadan from time to time.
“But the major problem we have is cattle coming to eat everything, destroying the crops, the newly planted farm seedlings guarded with empty tins before they establish. Once they eat, they uproot. And even the growing ones that are about to produce, they eat the leaves and they also set fire on the palm plantations so that when the grasses are germinating ,they will feed their cattle on those grasses . But they must have destroyed our farm seedlings in order to satisfy their own.
“And when we plant corn and cowpea, before we finish harvesting, they bring their cows to eat everything, cassava, eat everything, and uproot the tubers, uproot cocoyam tubers for their cows . They do this overnight and we’ve lost so many millions of naira. It is pathetic.”
Urgent action is required to avert food scarcity in Anambra
The traditional ruler of Mkpu -Nando, in Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State, Igwe Alex Edozieuno and the Chairman of the State , Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Simon Offordile ,are urging immediate action by government to halt the persistent attacks on farmers by herders if a food crisis must be averted in the country.
Igwe Edozieuno said already many farmers especially women in his domain have abandoned their farms for fear of being attacked by herders, while going to market has become an herculean task.
He said although, the state government has done well in resolving the differences between the various communities and herders, farmers still need adequate protection.
“Our youths are not happy over the situation, but as the custodian of the people, you have to calm them down not to take law into their hands, ” he said.
“My people no longer go to their farms, they don’t go to the market or walk freely and this is worrisome and it’s becoming embarrassing and unbearable to us “the monarch lamented.
Offordile told The Nation that farmers had lost not over 300 million naira worth of farm produce as a result of the attacks on their farms.
Offordile, listed some of the crops as rice, maize, vegetables among others.
He said there were already signs of food scarcity but said government could still step in by
Putting an end to senseless clashes between the farmers and herdsmen in Anambra.
Before now, the Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria MACBAN in the Southeast, Alhaji Siddiki Gidado, had told The Nation that his people had lost about 50 cows.
He commended Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State for setting up a committee to find a lasting solution to the problem.
‘Grass growing as business is panacea to herdsmen-farmers conflicts’
The last six weeks have been rather quiet in Adamawa State after a string of murderous attacks by herdsmen.
Those attacks had sent many people fleeing their homes but the National Chairman of North East Commodity Association (A formost body of farmers with headquarters in the Adamawa State capital, Yola), Sadiq Daware,told The Nation in Yola that the situation has improved substantially and farmers are back doing what they know best.
“We found ourselves in a precarious situation, such that we could not go to farms,” Daware said.
He added: “It was so during the last harvest circle when some farmers abandoned their crops and ran for their dear lives.
“But the situation has changed with collaborative efforts of the people, the traditional institutions, and the vigilante groups. We have not had any incident for nearly two months and so there has been no known case of any farmer abandoning his farm due to an attack or any serious threat.”
Daware allayed fear of food security in Adamawa and the rest of the Northeast, “especially now that it’s wet season and farmers are planting.”
Continuing, he said: “note too that our farmers have answered the clarion call of President Muhammadu Buhari to go back to the land and farmers have harvested so much that you find a lot of grains in the market and prices have dropped drastically.”
He said this has come as a result of Nigerians returning to farming and also as a result of the Anchor Borrowers’ programme which comes with support with quality input, fertilizer and even some cash to help with related commitments.
Grass growing as a business
The NECAS chairman nonetheless advised the Federal Government to encourage Nigerians to go into grass growing to produce sufficient food stock for cattle as a permanent solution to conflicts between herdsmen and farmers.
He said: “We need a permanent solution that can come from teaching our farmers how to grow grass so that their cattle can have what to eat. Grass growing is especially expedient because farming and nomadic cattle populations increase, raising the demand for farm and grasslands and if you do not make deliberate effort to increase the quantum of grassland, you will always have the herdsmen-farmers trouble we have been contending with. So, if herders are encouraged not to roam but to put their cattle in a place around grassland or grass stock that can feed their cattle, we will have enduring solution to herdsmen-farmers’ conflicts.”
Morale is low in Osun but farmers are keen to avert food shortage
The National President of the Beekeepers’ Association, Dr. Dokun Olagunju,told The Nation that although morale is currently low among farmers in Osun State,leaders of farmers associations are brainstorming on a regular basis to reverse the situation and boost production.
He described the persistent attacks on farmers and destruction of their farms as terrible and said the “situation is already affecting the morale of our members.”
But he also warned that unless government at all levels rises to the situation the situation mayget out of hand with dire consequences for the generality of Nigerians.
Also speaking, the President Osun State chapter of the Small Scale Women Farmers of Nigeria, Mrs. Janet Olaleye lamented the “unquantifiable losses” incurred by farmers in the state on account of encroachment by herders
She said numerous rice, cassava and maize farms have been destroyed at Ago Owu in Ayedade Local Government, Oyere in Ife South Local Government. She appealed to the government, particularly the Federal Government to help curtail criminal activities that are challenging the high yield and productivity of farmers.
Farmers not yet safe from herders in Benue
The chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria ( AFAN) in Benue State , Comrade Aondongu Saaku says farmers in the state are still far from being safe from attacks by herders.
He said herders still go about armed and killing people with impunity making farming difficult in many parts of the state.
He cited the case of Tseke, a community at the border between Benue and Nasarawa State where he said herdsmen moved in from Nasarawa and set fire to farmers’ houses and barns.
“When they (herders) storm Benue villages, you see them with 100 cows but about 400 men carrying AK 47 rifles pretending to be grazing ,” he said.
According to Saaku, the herdsmen the proceed to shoot and kill any farmer on sight and set fire to houses and barns .
“They also destroy crops which are at the point of germinating so that farmers don’t get food to eat and die hungry,” he said.
Saaku asked the federal government to set up a special police squad to provide security for farmers .
It’s a mixed grill in Zamfara
By a strange coincidence, food prices are falling in Zamfara State where gunmen have been on the rampage for several months now, kidnapping, killing and chasing farmers from their farms.
A retired judge in the state judiciary, Alhaji Al-Mustapha Balarabe, who is now into full time farming, said people of the state are now buying food cheaper than hitherto.
He said this is because merchants who used to come to the state from other parts of the country to buy food items now stay away leaving the market to only a few people buyers.
He said “Before the menace, people used to come from far and near; from Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Kano and even as close as Sokoto state to buy food items.
“There was market for practically any agricultural produce.But very few people now come to Zamfara for fear of being kidnapped with the current situation bandits activities in the state.
“So farmers have everything kept in stock without outside buyers and they need money, so they must sell.”
Balarabe said the banditry in the state is not as widespread as feared.
No cause for alarm in Kwara
Farm encroachment by herders and their animals is rare in Kwara according to the state Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Comrade Ajibola Tajudeen.
Consequently, agricultural production is hardly hampered.
“Kwara State farmers are not recording casualties like neighbouring North Central States,” Tajudeed said in Ilorin.
“There are cases of assaults, invasion of farms, illegal grazing on farms by herdsmen across the state noticeably by non-resident herdsmen. Cases of kidnappings were reported early this year in Ekiti local government area where ransom was paid.
“The fear of being attacked is much amongst our farmers, but we advise adoption of cluster formations, where farmers stay on large hectares of land in form of cooperatives.
“Nevertheless, internal securities as a form of security patrol should be put in place to guarantee life and properties of farmers at large.
“More men and women, youths are already joining the farming crusade since it is the largest constituency of employers of labour.”
Bandits also feeling the pang of hunger, says Emir
The traditional ruler of the troubled Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Emir Zubair Jibril Mai-Gwari II, has said that the armed bandits terrorizing his domain are now hungry and easy to defeat with more security efforts.
The Emir spoke in his palace yesterday while playing host to the State Commissioner of Police, Ali Aji Janga ,who was on a familiarization and operational visit to the local government area.
Birnin-Gwari has over the years been troubled for attacks by armed robbers, kidnappers, cattle rustlers and bandits, who have killed hundreds of people in the area.
The Emir who was delighted with the visit of the Police Commissioner expressed confidence that with a more serious operation against the bandits, they will be defeated.
He also appealed to the Police Commissioner to regulate the activities of a group identified as security volunteers, saying that, they are suspected to be informants to the criminals.
According to the Emir, “The bandits are only carrying out their operations in secluded areas where there are small market stalls and steal food in order to survive.They are hungry, they don’t have time to kill people again.
“If the police should re-strategise, little effort will only be needed to scrape them all, they don’t have much weapons, they are hidden in obvious hideouts.
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