Farmers in Zamfara and Sokoto States have called on the Federal Government to urgently deploy additional security operatives to protect them from persistent bandit attacks, which they say are jeopardizing the ongoing harvest season.
Several farmers who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria in Gusau lamented that bandits now impose levies on rural communities, disrupting efforts to harvest crops across the northwest.
The Sarkin Noman Mayanchi in Maru Local Government Area, Alhaji Kabir Ibrahim, urged the government to fulfill its duty by strengthening security in farming areas.
“We have recorded bumper harvests in different parts of the state; however, the period of harvest remained a challenge due to bandits’ activities in many rural communities.
“Farmers are facing difficulties in harvesting their crops in most of the rural areas of Zamfara.
“Some farmers who cultivated maize and rice are now afraid to go to their farmlands to reap the fruits of their labour,” he said.
Ibrahim noted that during the harvest season, bandits often invade communities demanding payments before allowing farmers access to their fields.
“Many farms remained under siege because bandits are demanding payments before allowing farmers to access their farms for harvest.
“This has led many large-scale farmers to abandon their farms in fear of kidnapping,” he lamented.
He expressed concern that some communities have resorted to surrendering part of their yields to the criminals just to be able to harvest the rest of their crops.
Similarly, a farmers’ leader in Shinkafi Local Government Area, Alhaji Adamu Bazamfare, emphasized the need for more security deployment to ensure smooth harvest operations across the state.
He also linked the recent drop in food prices to bumper yields and government policies.
“Governments at all levels need to intervene to allow us to harvest our crops and also prepare for dry season farming,” he pleaded.
Bazamfare, while acknowledging the good harvest recorded this year, said insecurity had hindered many farmers from reaping what they cultivated.
“Many farmers refused to cultivate their farmlands in fear of attack, and the few that grew crops are now facing harvest challenges.
“There is no doubt, farmers have recorded bumper harvests this year, but their major grievance is the demand by the bandits to forfeit parts of the harvesting crops to them or face hostility.
“These bandits usually send their boys to stop villagers from harvesting until they pay a certain amount or forfeit some portion of the crops or both,” he said.
According to him, communities such as Bullaƙe, Gidan Daji, Gidan Arɗo, and Gobirawa in Shinkafi LGA, among others, often pay money to bandits before both cultivation and harvest.
Speaking further, Bazamfare cautioned that the federal government’s decision to import food could have damaging effects on local agriculture.
He said such a move might discourage farmers, urging the government instead to channel those funds into subsidizing fertilizers and other inputs.
“Government should create other means to encourage and attract more farmers back to the long-established business,” he said.
In Sokoto State, the Programme Manager of the Sokoto State Agricultural Development Project, Alhaji Abubakar Danmaliki, confirmed that farmers across the 23 local government areas achieved impressive yields.
Danmaliki said the agency had begun compiling post-cultivation reports, noting that “so far so good, this year farmers have recorded bumper harvest.”
He, however, identified flooding as another challenge, revealing that eight local government areas were submerged during the rainy season. He assured that the government was ready to assist the affected farmers.
A farmer in Wamakko LGA, Malam Lawalli Yusuf, said farmers managed to record reasonable harvests but lamented poor market prices.
Lawalli appealed to the federal government to reduce fertilizer and input prices ahead of the next planting season to ease production costs and benefit both farmers and consumers.
NAN reported that in Sokoto markets, a bag of paddy rice sells for between N23,000 and N30,000, maize and millet go for N32,000 each, a measure of onions costs N1,300, while pepper sells for N900.
In Kebbi State, farmers identified insecurity, inadequate storage facilities, and falling commodity prices as key challenges despite the successful harvest.
Malam Abdullahi Musa, a rice farmer in Argungu, said this year’s output was higher than last year due to favorable rainfall and government support with free fertilizers and inputs.
“This year’s yield is far greater than last year because we have experienced a good pattern of rainfall and the government has supported farmers through the provision of free fertilisers and other farm inputs, but the problem now is that prices have dropped beyond expectation.
“A bag of paddy rice that sold for N45,000 as at last year, now goes for between N25,000 and N28,000,” he described.
He blamed the fall in prices on increased supply and the government’s import policy, which allows cheaper foreign goods to compete with local produce.
Another farmer, Mrs Maryam Dogo from Zuru, said insecurity was still a major worry for farmers in remote areas such as Danko/Wasagu, Sakaba, and Ribah LGAs.
“Many of our people cannot go to their farms freely because of the fear of attack. Even during harvest, we have to go in groups for safety, with escort from security agencies or vigilante members,” she said.
Dogo added that lack of storage facilities compels many farmers to sell immediately after harvest at low prices.
Likewise, a millet farmer in Yauri, Alhaji Garba Noma, pointed out that poor storage infrastructure causes significant post-harvest losses.
“We need the government’s intervention in the area of storage. Many farmers lose up to 30 per cent of their crops due to poor storage facilities,” he lamented.
A trader in Birnin Kebbi, Alhaji Umaru Adamu, confirmed that the bumper harvest has led to lower grain prices across markets.
“The fall in prices is mostly due to the good harvest this year. Government policies also played a role, but the main reason is that supply is now higher than demand,” he said.
