As communities in Borno State continue to come under insurgents attacks, there are fears that the situation will impact negatively on agricultural production in rural areas and eventually lead to food crisis.
Farmers in the local communities have been forced to desert their settlements and farmlands because of rampant attacks by rampaging armed men.
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Ironically, some of these troubled communities are close to Maiduguri, the state capital, where security patrols are unceasing and soldiers perform sentry duty at different locations.
A farmer, Mustafa Ali, in now deserted Modu Ajiri village, few kilometres away from a military cantonment, said the terrorists’ activities in the area posed potential hazard to both cash and food crops production.
He said attacks by suspected insurgents have forced people to leave their settlements and means of livelihood. The perpetrator ambush farmers and steal their money, mobile phones and bicycles, he said.
“Practically all the inhabitants have fled the village, including my parents, who are now taking refuge in Musari village.
“People started leaving long before the Eid el-Kabir festivities this year due to unrelenting attacks,” he said.
He said many farmers, who had earlier planted crops could not harvest them because of fear of attacks.
“As it is now, many people are scared and cannot go to their farms and harvest their crops. Birds have consumed a lot of crops that could not be harvested,” he said.
Ali, who moved to Maiduguri but had his farms in Modu Ajiri, said the fear of attack had led to wastage of crops by birds and other insects, a situation that if left unchecked, could sooner or later cause food crisis.
He said, “People here rely on either food or cash crops production or both. For example, I produce at least 35 bags of millet and over 20 bags of sesame seed every year. Each bag is 10 kilogrammes. This year, I did not bring my farm produce home because of attacks.”
He said food security would decline in most parts of the state if effort was not made to stabilize the security situation.
“People do go to farms but cannot work confidently and this will not allow bumper harvest,” another resident said
Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum had last month said there was the need to pay more attention to the restoration of law and order in the state in order to return displaced persons to their villages.
