Farmers in Zamfara and Sokoto States are calling on the Federal Government to deploy more security personnel to protect them from bandits’ attacks, which are threatening their harvest. The farmers have recorded bumper harvests, but the insecurity in the region is preventing them from accessing their farms and harvesting their crops.
The bandits are imposing levies on rural communities, demanding money or a portion of the crops before allowing farmers to access their farms. Some communities have been forced to adopt different methods to address the situation, including forfeiting a portion of their yields to the bandits.
The farmers are pleading with the government to intervene and provide security for them to harvest their crops peacefully. They are also calling for support to access fertilizers and other farm inputs at affordable prices.
The Programme Manager of the Sokoto State Agricultural Development Project (SADP), Alhaji Abubakar Danmaliki, said that farmers across the 23 local government areas had recorded bumper harvests of various crops. He identified flood as another factor that affected the farmers, adding that some areas were completely submerged during the rainy season.
The farmers are facing numerous challenges, including low commodity prices, insecurity, and inadequate storage facilities. They are calling on the government to support them by reducing the prices of fertilizers and other farm inputs, and providing storage facilities to reduce post-harvest losses.
The bumper harvest has led to a decline in food prices, with a bag of paddy rice selling between N23,000 and N30,000, depending on quality. However, the farmers are not benefiting from the harvest due to the low prices and the high cost of production.
The farmers in Zamfara and Sokoto States are in dire need of government support to address the security challenges and other issues affecting their livelihoods. The government must take immediate action to provide security and support to the farmers to ensure a peaceful harvest and improve food production in the region
