Continued from last week
…As terrorists, bandits, kidnappers scare away farmers
By Stanley Uzoaru (Owerri), Uchenna Inya (Abakaliki), Bamigbola Gbolagunte (Akure), Taiwo Oluwadare (Ibadan)
The third item of the eight points of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda focuses on boosting agriculture to achieve food security. Whereas the Federal Government and various states at the subnational level have been taking steps to provide agricultural inputs, and farmers are eager to engage in food production, attacks against farming communities by murderous terrorists, bandits and armed herdsmen daily pierce the heart of the government’s earnest desire to boost agriculture.
Last week, Sunday Sun presented the first part of situation reports from some states and communities across the six geopolitical zones of the country. Below is a continuation of the situation report.
IMO
Farmers in Imo are very much scared to go their farms due frequent incidents of abductions by Fulani terrorists masquerading as herdsmen.
At least 15 farmers have been abducted in the last three months and their families paid huge ransom paid for their release.
Ngor-Okpala and Owerri West local government areas have become the worst areas where these terrorists and armed herdsmen/bandits lay siege. People in these areas seldom go to their farms for fear of being abducted.
The situation has led to most of the communities setting up vigilantes to checkmate the activities of these criminals. Farmers in these areas only go to their farms on days the vigilantes are on duty and this has drastically reduced the number of farmers.
A community leader from one of the areas who does not want his name in print told our correspondent that kidnapping has made most of the farmers in his community abandon farming.
He said: “I fear there might be famine this year. Most of our farmers have refused to go to the farms to avoid being kidnapped. When they look at the amount of ransom being demanded by the kidnappers and then compare it to the value of what they would harvest from the farm, they just stay back.
A farmer who saw some kidnappers pass through her farm has not recovered from the shock till date as she has even sworn never to go back to the farm again.
“I was here farming when I saw some men with guns. Some of them covered their faces while some did not. They told me to continue what I was doing, that they did not come for me. After they passed, I hurriedly went back to my house. They were with a couple they were dragging to a bush,” a female farmer told Sunday Sun, recounting the experience of how she came very close to being abducted from her farm.
Despite efforts by the security agencies who try to comb the forest in search of the kidnappers once in a while, most of the farmers still express great fears going to the farm.
EBONYI
In Ebonyi State, there are no issues of banditry obstructing farming activities, as farmers have been continued to engage in farm work withouty hindrance.
There used to be herdsmen/farmers clashes in the state which led to loss of lives, abductions, destruction of crops, rape, killing of cattle and other issues.
However, over the last two years, such issues have not been recorded between the farmers and herdsmen. The herders no longer graze their cattle in the farms which majorly contributed to the farmer/herders clashes in the state.
The Ebonyi State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs. Nkechinyere Iyioku, said Governor Francis Nwifuru’s administration has enthroned peace in different parts of the state.
She said the governor has given farm inputs including fertilizers, tractors and other inputs to farmers to ensure high productivity and promote food sufficiency.
ONDO
Killings and other forms of attack by hoodlums suspected to be Fulani herdsmen have adversely affected farming in many parts of Ondo State.
This is even as farmers and their relatives have continued to suffer in the hands of the hoodlums with their farms being attacked and members of their families kidnapped.
This development has affected the smooth activities of farmers even as it poses serious challenge to food production in the state as many farmers have abandoned their farms for fear of being attacked by the hoodlums.
Recently, hoodlums attacked and killed farmers in no fewer than four farms in Akure North Local Government Area of the state.
This led to protest by farmers who complained about the incessant killings in their farms, a situation which paralyzed commercial and social activities in some parts of Akure, the state capital during the protest.
The farmers and youths protested the alleged killing of three farmers living in Akure North Local Government Area of the state by suspected herdsmen.
The protesters were drawn from Tafa area of Ajagbusi along Igbatoro road where the deceased farmers were working before their alleged murder.
The protesting farmers alleged that herdsmen in the area who are suspected to be of Fulani extraction are terrorizing them and members of their families, even as their crops are being destroyed by their cattle.
They warned the herdsmen against further attack on their colleagues and family members, even as they called on security agencies to intensify efforts at securing their lives and properties.
However, the Commandant of the Ondo State Security Network also known as Amotekun Corps, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, reassured of the readiness of his men to protect the lives of all the farmers working in different parts of the state.
He disclosed that hoodlums attacking farms and suspected kidnappers had been arrested in their numbers by his men in different parts of the state in the past, affirming that Amotekun operatives would continue to intensify efforts at combating criminal acts in all parts of the state.
OYO
Farmers across Oyo State have voiced deep concerns over the lack of adequate farming incentives, despite ongoing efforts by the state government to boost agricultural productivity.
During an investigation by our correspondent, many farmers praised Governor Seyi Makinde for his initiatives aimed at revitalizing the sector, but noted that serious challenges persist. Chief among these are frequent attacks by Fulani herdsmen, who reportedly allow their cattle to destroy farmlands, and a lack of consistent support in the form of subsidies and agricultural infrastructure.
Farmers told Sunday Sun that they were grappling with limited access to subsidized fertilizers, seeds, and agrochemicals. They also decried the absence of mechanization programmes such as the distribution of tractors, as well as limited access to low interest loans, grants, training, and extension services. Additionally, market access and the absence of price stabilization policies remain major concerns.
Testimonies from individual farmers, agricultural associations, and cooperatives confirmed that while the state government is making efforts, these are being undermined by ongoing herder-farmer conflicts.
Cornelius Bolaji, a farmer in the state, listed insecurity, high input costs, poor road infrastructure, and inadequate storage facilities, climate-related issues like floods and drought as well as overall government neglect as key issues affecting farming.
When asked if farmers were paying protection fees to bandits, Bolaji responded, “We haven’t experienced such here — only the herders disturbing us from farming. We’ve heard they have powerful backers in government who give them the courage to torment us.”
Responding to these concerns, Oyo State Commissioner for Agriculture, Barrister Olasunkanmi Olaleye, acknowledged the plight of farmers, citing the high cost of land clearing, the price of hybrid seeds, herdsmen destruction of farms, and inconsistent federal agricultural policies as major obstacles.
Highlighting the state’s interventions, Olaleye noted that the government had distributed 65,000 bundles of cassava cuttings, provided 400kg of maize each to 3,740 poultry farmers, and given salt blocks to 1,561 cattle farmers. Additionally, 2,536 livestock farmers received free wheat, 4,100 crop farmers were supplied with a minimum of two bags of fertilizer each, and 920 soybean farmers received inputs.
He added that approximately 3,000 farmers were given maize seeds covering 5,497.5 acres, while 1,487 farmers benefited from a 50 percent subsidy on tractor services, leading to 6,090 acres being ploughed last year.
Despite these efforts, farmers insist that more targeted support and protection are needed to ensure sustainable food production and rural stability in the state.
•Concluded