Gambo Ibrahim sold two of his farmlands to raise the N900,000 ransom demanded by kidnappers for the release of his two brothers.. His two brothers were supervising work in one of his farms when they were kidnapped by bandits three years ago.
Thousands of other farmers in Katsina and many other parts of the North-west face similar challenges as Mr Ibrahim from widespread insecurity. Outside the region, PREMIUM TIMES found that farmers in Yobe State and other parts of the North-east are also struggling under the assault of the Boko Haram insurgency, a menace that is decimating agricultural productivity, food sufficiency and nutrition in many parts of Nigeria.
“The first implication of these attacks is a reduction in the number of farmers. Farmers cannot go to their farms,” Sulaiman Iguda, a lecturer at the Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic, told PREMIUM TIMES. Standing beside Mr Sule was Abdullahi Usman, who is now the chairman of the displaced people in Bayari C camp. Mr Usman said he had over 70 cattle and sheep but they were all stolen by the terrorists.He said the state government was not doing enough to help farmers displaced by the insurgency to return to their farms in Yobe State.
Another farmer from Salihawar Rufai village also in Katsina State, Lawal Shehu, told PREMIUM TIMES that he still farms, but “one can’t go more than a kilometre away from the town.”The effect of insecurity on food prices has been severe. A market survey conducted by PREMIUM TIMES in Katsina and Yobe states showed that prices of grains have risen in the past two months, partly because of insecurity.
“There is poverty in the land because farmers are not going to the farm due to insecurity,” a village head in a displaced community in the Gujba area of Yobe said. The man sought to remain anonymous because of security concerns. He said the communities are now relatively safe because security operatives are in some villages but things need to improve more to boost agricultural practice.
Thirty-nine-year-old Abdulkadir Ibrahim of Turo kura, a community in the Gujba area of Yobe State owned four farmlands. He said he produced over 100 bags of beans, millet, and groundnut before the insurgency began.“I now live here and work as a fuel pump attendant. I used to employ people to work for me on my farms; now I am a labourer,” he said.
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