- ‘We’ve been sending our children to relations because we can no longer feed them’
- ‘Why there could be food, beef scarcity’
Theirs is what can be described as a tragedy of fate. For decades, they cultivated the land and produced bumper harvests from which they fed their families and also paid their bills using the income they realised from the sales of their produce.
They started out this year with higher commitment and determination to support the President Muhammadu Buhari- led administration’s resolve to invest in agriculture and use the sector to revive the economy that is in comatose. But, unfortunately, their efforts and expectations were marred by a myriad of challenges ranging from attacks by herdsmen, cattle rustlers, flooding, among others.
Today, the farmers from Agatu area of Benue State and their colleagues in different parts of the country cannot provide meals for their families let alone earn any income to take care of their growing bills.
Findings showed that their predicament has become messy to the extent that some of them have resorted to giving their children out to people outside their communities to save them from the torments of hunger.
Some of the farmers, who spoke with The Nation across the country, expressed disenchantment with farming as they regretted that no help came from the government in terms of cash or seedlings to enable them rise from their ruins.
Consequently, they feared that the government’s bid to use agriculture to save the country from the daunting economic recession largely occasioned by fall in global price of crude oil may end up being a mirage.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the lead consultant, on the project, “Targeting interventions to foster sustainable and resilient food security in Nigeria, Prof. Emmanuel Oladipo, early in the year warned that the country might experience food shortage if urgent interventions were not put in place to enhance food production. Already, the prices of foodstuffs across the country have skyrocketed, making it difficult for many families to feed.
One of the victims of the herdsmen’s attacks in Agatu, Paul Yusuf, described his condition as hopeless as he tearfully narrated his ordeal to our correspondent. He said: “I am hopeless right now. I have sent my children to my relations in Oturkpo and Abuja for them to help me take care of them because there is no food to feed them. I found it extremely hard to do it but I had no alternative than to do so because I can’t watch my children die of hunger. If such happens, it would be the height of tragedy that can befall any man, especially someone like me who always had excess food to give people. It was in the interest of my children and that of the entire family that I sent them to my relations. My wife and I would survive on anything we get.
“I was about to harvest my yams and other plants when the herdsmen struck. I don’t know where to start from again because I don’t have money. In spite of all that we are going through, the government has not bothered to render any assistance and they are talking about using agriculture to salvage the economy. Can anybody be encouraged to take to farming seeing how we have been neglected and left to die of hunger? My brother, we have been going through hell. You can imagine what it means for a breadwinner to lose all his investments. I lost everything I planted during the attacks.”
His kinsman, Bangana John, also suffered similar loss in the hands of the herdsmen. He flayed the alleged indifference of the government to their predicament, saying that the action portends danger for agriculture. “I had 10 hectares of land on which I planted different things but I don’t have anything as I am speaking with you. I have sent some of my children to relations in the urban areas so that they can take care of them for me because the hardship is too much.
‘’What is happening to us is discouraging people from going into farming. The Federal Government is preoccupied with the issue of grazing reserve for the herdsmen without caring about our plights. How can such attitude encourage people to go into farming? This will get worse if the situation does not get better. The problem is already affecting the level of food supply in the market. Before the incident, our markets were always flooded with food by this time of the year but that is not the case now. The markets are dry as there are no foodstuffs for people to sell. Everything was destroyed by the herdsmen and their cows.
“Before the attacks, I used to have bumper harvests. We used to feed our families from these and also sell to people from Nsukka, Obolo and other places. But now, we don’t have sufficient food to feed our families let alone having left over to sell. We would appreciate if the government could assist us with seedlings and finances to start planting again.”
For Honourable Bawa Mohammed, who lost his house together with his investments on his large expanse of farmland , recalling the ugly incident is like festering his sore that is yet to heal. Bawa who described himself as a serious farmer was crestfallen as he spoke to The Nation.
“I had a large expanse of farms before the herdsmen’s attacks. I had four hectares of yam, six hectares of rice, three hectares of melon, two hectares of maize and two and a half hectares of kolanut. The one that affected me the most was my fish pond. I had a huge fish pond but it was totally destroyed. I had 2, 000 fingerlings in the pond. All these hectares of lands and all that I had planted on them were destroyed. I did not even take a single seed out of any of the farms. Even , my house was also destroyed.
“Before the incident, many traders within and outside Benue State had my mobile number. They used to call to book for my produce in advance. But that is not the case this year. I have been feeding by God’s grace and the help of kind-hearted people. The churches and many other organisations have also been helping me to have something to eat and at least live. My kids have been sent out of school because I can’t pay their school fees. I have been affected psychologically.”
Like other victims, he said: “I have not received a penny or seedlings from any government to help me start up again. We have received a lot of promises but nothing concrete has come out of all that. The campaign that people should go back to farm is not worth it because people’s lives are not guaranteed. It was recently that the minister came up with agric loan. Many farmer-colleagues and I have applied but we have not seen anything yet.
“A lot of my farmer-colleagues have become sick and incapable of doing anything. This is seriously affecting the disposition of the youths to farming. We may have food scarcity because of the challenges we faced. It has affected the seedlings that we need to farm and you cant give what you don’t have. The government should come into Agatu by providing enough security for us. When this is done, we would go back to farm full time. If they can also help us with cash and seedlings, it will go a long way in helping us. The government should come to our aid and save us from dying of frustration”
Though, Ogwule, a suburb of the local government, was not attacked by the herdsmen, the farmers lamented that their huge harvests are rotting away because the state of the roads prevents people from other places from coming to patronise them. One of the farmers, Agbocheni Mohammed, said: “The roads are bad and we can’t take our produce out to sell. As we speak now, most of the things we harvested are rotting and the worst is that we have no means of preserving them. We have abundant pepper, dry okro right now but they are spoiling because of the bad roads as buyers find it difficult to come here to buy our produce.
“We also don’t have fertilisers early enough to plant our crops.Before now we used to get fertilisers in June but they have been coming very late now. We got fertilisers between August and September this year. We had pest challenges between April and May this year. We have not been receiving help from the ministry of agriculture. The only way we know that they exist is through the orientation programme on the radio and television. Aside from this, we have not been seeing their impact.
The story is not different in Enugu State where the activities of armed herdsmen have resulted in the loss of several lives and destruction of hectares of farmlands together with the crops planted on them.
A community leader in Eha Amufu in Isi Uzo Local Government Area of the state, Chief Eric Ebeh, said many farmers in the community have developed high blood pressure and dying in quick succession because of the huge losses they incurred.
He said: “It is a hopeless situation that we have found ourselves here. People’s blood pressure is rising on a daily basis making the number of people that are dying every day to be on the increase in this place. Imagine what would be the fate of people that had all their hope on only the things that they cultivated. Think of a situation where somebody cultivated the land using all his resources and even borrowed to make up for the shortfalls, only to wake up one morning to find out that everything he laboured for had been destroyed.
“How do you think the person can cope? It has increased death in our place. It has increased hunger in our place. I mean it that it has increased the death rate in our place. Although, there are no suicide cases recorded but when people are dying like chicken every day, it is worrisome. Many farmers just develop heart attack these days and die.”
He regretted that the challenge has discouraged many farmers from going into farming, adding: “I lost yams, cassava and other things planted to the herdsmen’s attacks. It is a terrible issue and it is making many people not to go to the farms again. Many farmers in our communities are now jobless. A good number of my farmer- colleagues are just idling away at home. The people that cultivated rice can’t continue anymore. Last year, so many farmers took loans to cultivate yams but at the end of the day, herdsmen destroyed what they planted and wasted all their investments.
“The menace has worsened the living standard of the people because the prices of foodstuff have skyrocketed. A bushel of local rice that used to cost N3,000 is now N8,000. You are asking if it would lead to scarcity of food next year when there is scarcity already. By December when people would be in Christmas mood, how much do you think they would be selling foodstuff? We should be concerned about this year and not even a distant 2017.”
He also noted: “The government is saying that people should go into farming but they are not doing anything to solve the challenges that the people that are into the business are going through. The major issue now is about the security of our people in the hands of the herdsmen. These people are not the regular Fulani herdsmen that we used to know.
“They are terrorists and I don’t know if Boko Haram has infiltrated their camp to invade our communities. They are heartless. If they are merely crossing over your farm and you scare them away, they will come in the night and attack you.”
Apart from the rising death rate, he said: “The youths are leaving the communities because there is nothing for them to do again. We are praying that these problems should not escalate because it could make people to take laws into their hands if it continues.
“Many children of farmers are going to drop out of school this time around because they have no means of paying their school fees. Another challenge here is that it is already worsening the rate of crime. This is why we are asking the federal government, the state government and the security operatives to come to our aid.”
In Eboyin State, the youths condemned what they described as insincerity of successive governments in encouraging the youths to take to agriculture. In a chat with The Nation, the chairman of the state’s youths cooperative society that deals in farming, Mazi Alex Okemiri, said: “I was among the people that were trained in mechanised farming by the Federal Government in 2013 in Ilorin. It was a national project and after the training, we were told that we were going to be given a loan and a pack containing farm implements to enable us commence mechanised agriculture in our various states. To that effect, they gave us letters to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture in our states but till date nothing has come out of it.
“If you go to the ministry today, they will tell you that your file is still lying there because the Federal Government has not done anything in that regard. I was in their office last week and they brought out our files and showed us that nothing has happened so far. The youths needed that empowerment and encouragement to give their all to farming. Everything is still on paper and radio. We are still hoping that both the federal and state governments will do something about it. But most of the youths migrated to the urban areas afterwards because there is nothing left for them in the farms.”
Contrary to insinuations that a bag of local rice might sell for N9,000 against the imported ones that cost between N18, 000 and N22,000, Okemiri said: “There is no hope that a bag of local rice in Eboyin will be sold for N9, 000 this year because the demand is higher than the supply. Nobody should think of such for now.The agric loans they have been talking about is merely done in the media. If that loan is given to farmers, they will not find it difficult to farm very well. Many of the farmers here have collected and filled the forms for the loan after paying the sum of N1,000 but till today, none of them has received a dime. Many of the farmers have large expanse of lands to farm but because they have no resources to pay labourers, they merely produce for subsistence.”
Besides the attacks by herdsmen, food production in many parts of the country has also suffered huge setbacks because of the menace of flooding.
In Kano State, no fewer than 3,803 farmlands have been washed away as a result of the heavy down pour which wreaked havoc in the state. The property and farmlands destroyed so far are valued at over N1.9 billion.
The Executive Secretary, Kano State Emergency and Rehabilitation Agency (SERA), AlhajiAliyu Bashir Nukkel, said: “Eight local governments in Kano State have so far been affected by flood disaster in the year 2016. They are Bagwai, Shanono, Kiru (two times incident recorded), Bebeji, Dawakin Kudu, Garun Malam, Warawa, and Wudil. In Bagwai, we recorded 220 victims, Shanono has 58 victims, Garun Malam has 197 victims, Kiru has 775, Bebeji 403 victims, Warawa has 84 victim, Dawakin Kudu has 2067.
“On the whole, we have about 5,300 victims of flood in Kano. Also, we have recorded three deaths so far. We recorded two deaths at Bebeji and one person died at Kiru. Also, we have five persons injured and they were treated and discharged. The affected houses that collapsed or blown off due to heavy down pour and as a result of wind storm were put at 2017, while 3, 803 farm lands were washed away. “
He added that, “Over N1.9 billion were lost to the flood, that is, including the farm lands and houses were affected by the flood. You know, most of the farm lands affected was already growing maize, guinea corn, millet, tomatoes, rice, water melon, onion and other cash crops. The losses were incurred by individual farmers, cooperative societies and other big time farmers’ association. We have already sent 5,300 victims affected by the flood to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for their attention and intervention.
“ I must tell you that out of all these incidents, that of Warawa remains very serious, and the victims have to be accommodated by their neighbours, friends and well wishers. Now, the Executive Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, had already visited the area. He went there and saw what happened and he immediately released N2.9 million to assist the affected victims. Now, we are preparing a comprehensive report that will include the extent of damage in all the affected eight local government areas. It will soon be ready and we will forward it to the state government for necessary action.”
Also in Delta State, many farming communities on the riverbank have started experiencing the effects of the flood. For communities in Oko, Oshimili South LGA, the situation is grim as many fish farmers have lost fish farms to the flood after the River Niger bank burst.
Our correspondent who visited the community reported that the farmers have resorted to hasty harvesting of yams which is the major staple for fear that the flood will destroy their harvest.
A community leader, Pa Joseph Alanah, decried the flood incident and the attendant effect on their farms, adding that the yam seedlings and cassava stems donated by government to farmers in the community never got to them and as such government is not to be trusted.
Another farmer in the community, Chukwudi Ossai, lamented that his fish farm located on the banks of the River Niger is under threat following rising flood levels. According to him, “ I have not had a moment peace since the rainy season began. With the rising floods, my fish farm together with all my fishes will be swept into the River Niger. How will my family survive if this happens?’’
Aside from crop farmers, livestock farmers are also lamenting, thus raising fears that the country could suffer shortfall in the supply of beef.
Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir El- Rufai, echoed this when he said the country is facing the threat of a significant decline in availability of beef. Writing on his tweeter handle, the governor said: “I attended a seminar organised by the Centre for Democratic Development and Training (CEDDERT) in Zaria where research findings on the senseless massacre and destruction emanating from the dreaded Kuyanbana forest was presented by Massoud Omar and Abubakar Siddique Mohammed. The forest links communities in BirninGwari in Kaduna State, Dansadau in Katsina State and Sabuwa in Zamfara State.
“A significant number of criminal gangs initially focused on cattle rustling have made the forest their home from where they wreak havoc on the three communities. Most of the cattle in the area have already been rustled and Nigeria is facing the threat of a significant decline in availability of beef. As it is well known, 90% of our beef comes from Fulani pastoralists and their cattle have become a magnet of attacks by the gangs located within the Kuyanbana Forest. From cattle rustling, the gangs have moved into kidnapping and mass killings of innocent villagers.”
He added: “Victims from the three communities were at the seminar to give testimonies of their plight. The village head of YarGalidima in Dansadau for example gave detailed accounts on how the gangsters descended on the village and killed 130 people, including three of his children. That was not the end of the story, they came back to demand for more money as protection against further attacks. The bandits then ordered the communities not to farm this rainy season.
“Today, 40 percent of the community has simply given up and fled the area. Some of the gangsters have now settled in one of the villages where they have set up a generator and organise regular discos with the sex workers they have imported. About six weeks ago, the Nigeria Army organised a major security operation in the Dansadau area of Zamfara State and that became a disaster for the neighbouring communities in Kaduna State.
“The gangs simply went back into Kuyanbana forests and descended on communities in Birnin Gwari Local Government. The Sarkin Fulani of Gundi was at the seminar to explain how his family lost over 500 cattle to the gangs. They came to him to explain that they took his cattle and would return them if he paid them N1 million, he paid and they refused to return the cattle. Families in Gundi cannot sleep in the houses due to constant raids – they go into the bush to sleep and drug children with Benelyn cough syrup so they do not cry and attract the marauders to where they were hiding.
“The most harrowing story was that of girls kidnapped by the gangs and used as sex slaves. After about six months, the gangs returned the girls with two rams for each one and asked their parents to use the rams for the naming ceremonies when the girls deliver. I simply cannot see higher forms of cruelty.’’
Added to the menace of cattle rustlers are the challenges of flooding and clashes between farmers and herdsmen. Just last month, in Jos East Local Government Area of Plateau State, over 30 cows were drowned in a flood that also destroyed farmlands.
The Fulani community in Benue State, early in the year, alleged that 10,000 cattle belonging to its members were killed by Agatu natives.Also, towards the end of June, 83 cows were reportedly killed in one weekend in the Adayi and Loko areas of Nasarawa State.
The Federal Government has, however, not left any stone unturned in its bid to put an end to the farmers’ challenges. Recently, it moved to engage the services of officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC) to end the killing of farmers by hoodlums suspected to be herdsmen and adequately protect farmlands for massive cultivation. The Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, said that he was in talks with his counterpart at the Ministry of Interior to work out the modalities. He recalled the ordeal of the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, in the hands of the marauding herdsmen, saying that it was one experience that had scared farmers and agro investors. The minister said that the development had also affected bumper harvest of most staple and essential food items which could be produced locally.
He said: “I had a meeting with the Minister of Interior. We were looking at the security situation in agriculture. Sometime last year, some gunmen went to OluFalae’s farm, a Nigerian in status, in age and ranking and took him away and marched him around, forced him to trek 10 kilometers, even carried him on their backs. Many more farmers are coming in including foreign investors and to stand the risk of being subjected to this kind of humiliation, we are talking with Ministry of Interior that we have to put measures in place.”
Stakeholders in the livestock industry have also introduced a new waybill for transporters of animals across Nigeria, saying it is one of the major deterrents to large scale cattle rustling. Stakeholders consist of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN), the Pastoral Resolve (PARE), the National Union of Road Transport Workers, and the Amalgamated Union of Road Transport, among others.
Speaking when the joint team visited the Kaduna State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in respect of grazing reserves’ development, Executive Director of PARE, Sale Momale said the team will visit communities in the state to talk to pastoralists and farmers and enlighten them on the waybill as well as the proposal by the Federal Government to develop infrastructure in some of grazing reserves.
“The bill emphasises movement of cattle from one market to the other in large trucks which is one of the major ways cattle rustling syndicates operate in Nigeria,” he said.
“The committee after a lot of consultations realised that most movements, rustling, and crimes are directly or indirectly being assisted by our members. We have to join hands to reduce these crimes to the barest minimum and assist in making sure that the movement of rustled cattle is stamped out,” said the national coordinator, heavy and light truck unit of the NURTW, SuleimanAdamu Danzaki.
President Buhari has also often reiterated the commitment of the administration to improving the agriculture sector. “Diversifying the economy can no longer be a slogan. It has become a necessity. Economic growth cannot just be for the lucky few at the top, it has to be broad-based for every Nigerian citizen, and a good place to start is with the agricultural sector.
“The real point is not to complain about the difficult terrain, but to change it. This is why this administration has prioritised agriculture and food security as the basis for socio-economic development, not least because of our conviction that Nigeria has the potential to produce what it eats, but also that we can be the breadbaskets of West Africa.
“Agriculture is key to our economic growth and social investment policies. Our administration’s key strategy is to ensure that Nigeria becomes self-sufficient in the foods that we consume the most,” the president said at a recent public function.”
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