By John Adams (Minna), Scholastica Hir (Makurdi) and Lucky Ighomuaye (Benin)
Not a few people rejoiced at news that the prices of foodstuff had started to show a downward trend. This was a significant, pleasant and heartwarming development for the nation.
However, on the heels of the encouraging measurable drop in foodstuff prices came the disturbing news that Sahelian terrorists in parts of the country and their in-country enablers and collaborators attacked people in farming communities, abducting and even killing several farmers.
But governors of some states like Niger, Benue and Edo have risen to the challenge and have started implementing measures to enhance security in farming communities and thereby encourage farmers to return to the farms, to boost food production. Sunday Sun presents situation reports in the three states.
NIGER
The current agricultural revolution of the Niger State governor, Umaru Mohammed Bago, faces a serious setback in some parts of the state due to the activities of gunmen, who have made farming activities unattractive and unsafe. Consequently, there have been very significant fall in food crop cultivation and foodstuff production.
In parts of the North, especially in the North Central states, there has been a measurable drop in the prices of foodstuff. However, the same reduction in food prices have not been witnessed in Niger State, where majority of farmers are currently taking refuge at the camps for Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, located in various parts of the state.
Niger State has been acknowledged as one of the food baskets of the nation, but the activities of bandits forced farmers in most communities to abandon their ancestral lands. Back then when farming activities were at peak, the state used to witness the lowest prices of staple foodstuff in the entire northern states.
For instance, food items like yam, maize, beans, rice, soya beans and lately cassava, were cultivated in large and commercial quantities. But now, the murderous activities of the bandits and Sahelian insurgents, has driven farmers off the land and compelled them to seek refuge in safer parts of the state.
Farming activities have dropped by about 50 percent in the state due to the security challenges bedeviling parts of the state as most affected farmers have now decided to embark on subsistence farming to sustain members of their immediate families.
For close to a decade, 10 of the 25 local government areas of the state have been under the control of bandits. Incidentally, the 10 LGAs controlled by bandits and terrorists account for about 70 percent of food production in the state.
This situation has to a large extent affected the prices of food items in markets in the state. While the prices of foodstuff have started to drop in some states in the north, such reduction in prices is not being witnessed in Niger State. A market survey of prices of some of the food items showed that a tuber of yam is sold for between N1000 and N1200 depending on the size. In the past, before the activities of the bandits impacted farming, the same size of yam used to cost N400 or N500. The story is the same with other food items like maize, beans, rice, and soya beans, among others.
A farmer, Dauda Mohammed from Erena, Shiroro Local Government Area of the state who relocated to Zumba community as a result of incessant attacks by bandits told Sunday Sun reporter that he has given up commercial farming and now focused on subsistence farming to support his immediate family.
He disclosed that before he was forced by the activities of the bandits to relocate with his family to Zumba, he used to record sales of between N5 million and N7 million annually, after harvesting his crops, adding that for the past five years he has only been cultivating what his family can eat.
“This thing I am telling you is applicable to a lot of other farmers in my community. Farmers in the villages have all run away to avoid being kidnapped or even killed,” Mohammed said.
Former commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Jonathan Vatsa, believes that until the security challenges in parts of the state are addressed, nobody should expect prices of food items to drop in the state, asking rhetorically: “When the farmers have been chased away from their homes by bandits, who will do the farming?
“The security situation in the state does not give room for meaningful farming and so by implication, it will affect prices of food items. Niger State before now used to be the food basket of the nation but these enemies of the people have frustrated the farmers.”
Vatsa, however, believes that with the state government’s agricultural revolution programme, things will begin to change for the better. “The present administration has promised to tackle the issue of insecurity in the state to pave way for massive cultivation of the vast lands across the state,” he said.
The state government’s agricultural revolution is facing a serious challenge because of the sustained onslaught by the bandits against communities in the state. In the last one month, scores of villagers have been abducted, the most recent being the wife of the secretary of Munya Local Government Council and her two children. The woman and the children were abducted in Sarkin Pawa, the headquarters of the local government. The abductors asked for ransom of N60 million and five motorcycles. The victims have been held in the bush for more than three weeks.
In Rafi Local Government Area of the state, no fewer than 122 persons, including women and children were abducted within one month while six people were killed across six communities in the local government.
The member representing Rafi State Constituency in the House of Assembly, Hon. Zubairu Ismaila Zana, recently raised the alarm over the escalation of banditry on the floor of the Assembly under Matter of Urgent Public Importance provisions of the legislature.
He described the situation as very dangerous and pathetic, saying that the people have been forced to abandon their homes and farming activities.
“If the situation is not urgently addressed, there is likelihood of the outbreak of hunger and starvation among the people,” he said.
BENUE
Ensuring food security is one of the cardinal points in the agenda of the administration of Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia. This is evident in his 2025 budget, which he christened “Budget of Human Capital Development, Food Security, and Digital Economy.”
Presenting the budget at the state Assembly, Governor Alia had emphasized that his administration was laying the foundation for a brighter future, one that ensures “our food systems are robust and capable of feeding all.”
He stated that for the state to ensure food security and live up its reputation as the food basket of the nation, 15.28 percent of the N550.1 billion budgeted for 2025 is for livestock and agricultural production, amounting to N84.1 billion.
In this regard, the administration plans to invest in modern, smart agricultural techniques, irrigation systems, and the provision of high-yield seedling to empower farmers, to increase local production, reduce reliance on imported food, and ensure that the agricultural sector is sustainable and profitable for the farmers.
As envisaged by the government, storage and distribution of farmers’ outputs would be enhanced to prevent post-harvest losses and to ensure food availability throughout the year. The government has clear intention to expand investment in food storage infrastructure and distribution networks for efficient supply chains that will deliver food from farms to markets without delay.
The government has shown commitment to improving security by establishing the Benue State Civil Protection Guards (BSCPG), in November 2024, which took off with 5000 personnel. The Alia administration provided 100 Toyota Hilux vehicles and 600 Special Combatant motorcycles to security agencies in the state to allow for easy movement in even difficult terrains. In addition, the governor also launched Operation Anyam Nyor, which means “the lion has entered.” Operation Anyam Nyor is a joint security task force, all geared towards the security and wellbeing of citizens in the state.
To bolster safety for both IDPs and farming communities in the state, 5,000 Civil Protection Guards have deployed to work with operatives of the Nigerian security agencies, thereby providing a critical layer of security against potential threats.
To enable displaced persons and the host communities to resume farming activities, the government has provided agricultural inputs, training, and other necessary resources as part of the agricultural livelihood support initiative. Other initiatives include promoting sustainable and climate-resilient farming techniques to mitigate the impacts of environmental challenges to enable farmers achieve better yields and contribute to the state’s overall food production.
The Alia administration has commenced efforts to improve access to markets for agricultural produce and ensure that farmers receive fair value for their labour, including developing infrastructure and facilitating connections between farmers and buyers.
Notwithstanding these laudable initiatives, Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security in Benue State, Professor Moses Ogbaji, is disturbed that attacks by armed bandits and Sahelian terrorists operating in Benue and other farming communities across the country have impacted food security in the country.
His words: “The criminal activities of bandits have impacted badly on the food security status of Nigeria because many farmers are unable to go back to their farms to cultivate and that is a big problem. They are afraid. Sometimes when they cultivate, their crops are eaten up by the herds of cattle being reared by the herdsmen. So, early resolution of this matter will go a long way in enhancing food security in Nigeria. I am calling on the Federal Government and also appealing that all the relevant stakeholders should put all hands on deck to resolve this matter quickly.
“I’m very happy with what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is doing by setting up the Ministry of Livestock and when you come to Benue, you will see the efforts of our state Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, who is going to the roots to make sure there is peace.
Ogbaji who noted that the state government has been providing inputs such as fertilizers, chemicals, improved seeds and seedlings to farmers in the state and ensure that they are available all year round.
“Farmers in Makurdi can approach the Ministry of Agriculture to get these materials and for those in any of the local government areas, they can approach the Divisional Agricultural Officers in their communities to buy these materials at highly subsidized rates. These materials are available courtesy of the Governor of Benue State.”
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to Governor Hyacinth Alia on Security and Internal Affairs, Chief Joseph Har PSP, noted that the state security outfit, Benue State Civil Protection Guards, will complement the conventional security agencies to ensure that Benue communities are safe for all and for farmers to return to their farms.
Har commended the Director General of the Department of State Security, who said at a public event that communities should be allowed to arm themselves. He, however, stated that only the Governor has the powers to decide on such matters.
EDO
In Edo State, the administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo recognizes the importance of security to farmers and has put a lot of measures in place to ensure that they are safe in their farmers.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor Okpebholo, who spoke with Sunday Sun, Mr Fred Itua, reeled out the measures taken by the state government to benefit the farmers.
His words: “When Edo State governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, took over, he reorganized the state security outfit and renamed it Edo State Security Corps with a clear mandate to provide security support to traditional or existing security agencies in the state like the police and other armed forces.
“They have trained security officers across the states although they have done some mopping up of arms, those recruited and reintegrated into the corps have already started working and they are also working with the communities to establish armed vigilante groups and in conjunction with the police and other security agencies in the state.
“So that exists already in the state and most of the successes the state has recorded in the fight against kidnapping and other violent crimes, the agency too has helped in making that happen.
“They have also helped in rescuing kidnapped victims and stopped armed robbery attacks, including herdsmen attacks and other related crimes.
“Part of their mandate is to protect the villages and neighbourhood communities where farm settlements exist like the one in the Ovia part of the state where we also had some violent attacks in the Ijaw speaking part of the state.
“The governor has visited the area and he has also mandated the military to work with other security agencies to have a standby security force there.
“They approved and have also spoken to the Commission of Police to establish a security post like an additional police station in that area to provide the security.
“And he also met with the warring communities on the need to coexist and ensure that those farmlands are protected. If you also recall before him coming on board, the state had a budget for agriculture of about N5.5 billion.
“But in the 2025 budget that is currently running, Governor Okpebholo raised it from N5.5 billion to over N70 billion. And he has also flagged off the rainy season farming in February.
“So across the state, there is this massive farming that is ongoing and the government is getting involved directly and in the coming days or weeks, he will also flag off another programme where he will have to give a grant and loans to farmers to help them go into real commercial farming and produce enough food for Edo indigenes and residents to eat after which other states will benefit from the largesse of the state and earn some revenue for individuals and the state government.
“So that is already ongoing and the insecurity, which is not peculiar to Edo is being handled. It is very important to note that insecurity at the fringes of the state, where herdsmen are allegedly wreaking havoc and other criminals are disturbing farmers is being addressed. Hopefully in the coming days, people will begin to see the results of some of the lofty security ideas that the governor is coming up with. “So, is a work in progress, but a lot has been done already.”