From Our Correspondent in Gusau
Farmers in Zamfara and Sokoto States, have appealed to the Federal Government to deploy more security personnel to the states to protect farmers from bandits’ attacks, “which is” threatening harvest of crops.
A cross section of farmers who spoke in Gusau, observed that the bandits were now imposing levies on rural communities, which had been disrupting farmers from harvesting their crops.
The Sarkin Noman Mayanchi in Maru Local Government Area, Alhaji Kabir Ibrahim urged government to be alive to its responsibilities through the deployment of more security personnel to proffer solution to the difficulties being faced by farmers in the rural areas.
”We have recorded bumper harvest 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 famers who cultivated maize and rice are now afraid to go to their farmlands to reap the fruits of their labour”, he said.
According to him, this is harvest season, however, the bandits always come around demanding for money from the rural communities, else they will prevent them access to their farmlands.
“Many farms remained under siege because bandits are demanding payments before allowing farmers to access their farms for harvest.
“This has led to many large scale farmers to abandon their farms in fear of kidnapping”, he lamented.
Ibrahim noted with dismay that some communities were forced to adopt different methods to address the situation, including forfeiting portion of their yields to the bandits, so as to allow them harvest the remaining crops.
A farmers’ leader in Shinkafi local government, Alhaji Adamu Bazamfare, attributed the crash in food prices to both government policies and bumper harvest across different parts of northern region.
Bazamfare appealed for deployment of more security operatives to support smoother harvest of crops across the state.
“Government at all levels need to intervene to allow us harvest our crops and also prepare for dry season farming”, he pleaded.
The farmers’ leader, who said that farmers in different parts of the state were happy following this year’s yield, however, explained that insecurity had prevented them from harvesting what they had 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 harvest 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 certain amount or forfeit some potion of the crops or both”, he said.
According to him, some villages like; Bullaƙe, Gidan daji, gidan Arɗo, and Gobirawa in Shinkafi LGA and other areas had to pay money to bandits before cultivation and
the same thing is happening during the harvest period every year.
Speaking on importation of food by the federal government, Bazamfare noted that it would certainly have a negative consequences on farmers, saying that such policy would discourage many farmers from participating in active farming.
He, however, advised the federal government to re-channel the money meant for food importation to subsidise high cost of fertilisers and other farming inputs to rekindle the hope of farmers.
