How insecurity is forcing Kaduna farmers to the roadside

In 2021, Malam Jafaru Abdullahi, the village head of Unguwar Salahu in Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State, fled his home due to constant attacks by bandits, leaving behind about a dozen farms he used to cultivate. 

Jafaru, who used to produce about 300 bags of maize, rice and beans annually before the spate of insecurity, had no choice but to flee to Gwandu, another village in the same Local Government Area. But according to him, the bandits still forced him out due to constant attacks, leaving behind a rented farmland of maize. 

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“We have now moved to another village close to Zaria to farm,” he said, narrating a distressing situation many farmers in frontline states are faced with. 

The onetime village head wondered why the government had not been able to protect rural farmers, saying that leaving their communities in the hinterland meant they would now produce few crops, and this will, in the long term, affect the country’s food security.

Daily Trust on Sunday reports that as some farmers prepare to return to their farms to take advantage of the rainy season, many others are relocating to roadsides for fear of being attacked by bandits. 

Activities of none-state actors, locally referred to as bandits, have continued to hamper farming activities in frontline communities of Kaduna’s Chikun, Birnin Gwari, Igabi, Giwa and Kajuru local government areas. 

There are several instances where the bandits attacked and abducted farmers while either working on their farms or on their way to the farms. This, according to Jafaru Abdullahi and other farmers, is why many rural farmers have abandoned their lands in the hinterlands to either move closer to big towns and cities or major highways.

Our correspondent observed that many villagers in Igabi Local Government Area now farm along the Kaduna-Zaria Highway instead of walking long distances to their farmlands, often in remote areas susceptible to bandits. 

When our correspondent visited the area, farmers were seen clearing the fields in preparation for this year’s planting season. In some areas, they were also seen felling tall trees to provide space to plant more crops.

Some of the farmers interviewed along the highway said they had no option but to leave their farms in the hinterlands for the highway. 

The Sarkin Kasuwar Rigachikun, Alhaji Salisu Manager, who was seen preparing his small farm by the Kaduna-Zaria Highway, said that even on the highway, they were watchful of strangers’ movements. 

“We are not happy, but we have no option other than to relocate to the roadside or close to the city. While here, we are still afraid of strange faces; the moment we see strangers we feel uncomfortable. This is the situation farmers have found themselves in,” he said.

Manager said that unless the government addressed the security situation, food insecurity looms as farmers are no longer able to harvest enough food to feed the country. 

He, however, said security agents had advised farmers who have relocated to the highway against planting maize or any crop that could grow tall to obstruct vision. 

“This is so that the crops do not serve as a hiding place for criminals along the road. 

“Last year, I planted soya beans, but this year, I will be planting cucumbers, hoping that it would grow fine in the soil,” he said. 

He also appealed to relevant government agencies to provide peasant farmers with fertilizers to enable them have bumper harvest.

Ayuba Bulus, a farmer from Kafin Gwari in Igabi Local Government Area, who also spoke with our correspondent while working on his roadside rice farm, said that a few years ago, he used to plant maize, guinea corn and rice on his farm at the outskirts of Rigachikun in the same local government area, but he now plants only rice by the highway because they are not allowed to plant maize and guinea corn, for security reasons.

“I prefer my farm, but we have no option than to stay here and manage. In our farms, we had enough hectres to plant crops, but here, we can only plant little to feed our children. Someone who harvests about 10 bags of maize can now barely harvest five bags. This is a sign of a big problem,” he said.

Another farmer at Maigiginya, a community less than two kilometres from Rigasa railway station, who simply identified himself as Malam Ridwan, said he no longer visited his farm due to fear of the unknown. 

He said most of the farmers in the community had relocated to an area close to the military outpost. “We have all abandoned our farms near the forests because they are no longer accessible due to the activities of bandits. We now plant close to our community because there is a military outpost; but they have warned us against planting maize and guinea corn due to their height,” he said.  

He said farming communities such as Maguzawa, Kwate, Beri-beri, Kwate Waziri, Doka and Unguwar Malam, all located in western Rigasa town in Igabi Local Government Area, had been deserted due to constant attacks. 

“Most of the people are now taking refuge in Rigasa town, and there are no adequate farmlands there to accommodate them. Land is on high demand,” he said.

Roadside farming detrimental to commercial farming – Expert

The Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai recently appealed to the people of the state to farm massively to reduce hunger and food inflation. El-Rufai, who said he was aware of the ongoing attacks on farming communities, assured that the activities of bandits were being tackled.

Speaking when the Emir of Zazzau, Malam Ahmad Nuhu Bamalli, paid him a traditional Hawan Bariki courtesy visit in Zaria, El-Rufai said the state government would continue to do everything possible to mobilise and support federal security agencies to defeat the terrorists and criminals that menace the people.

However, Abdulrahman Ali Musa, an agriculturist, said if not quickly checked, the security situation could no doubt affect commercial farming in the state. He said there were many large abandoned farmlands within the hinterlands because their owners were scared to return.

He said the situation, if not addressed, could lead to low harvest in the state because roadsides farmlands were usually small compared to those owned by the farmers.

Abdulrahman also said it was a pity that in some communities, farmers had to pay levies before they caould access their farms or harvest their produce, adding that this has forced many farmers to abandon their farmlands. 

“Farming by the roadside or close to the city is a big threat to the farming business because it will reduce the quantity of produce for commercial purpose. The government must do everything possible to secure our farmlands in the hinterlands so that farmers can feel free to return to work,” he said.

Farmers’ relocation worrisome – AFAN

The Kaduna State chapter of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), has described as worrisome a situation where farmers can no longer go to their farms, and have resorted to farming by the roadside. 

The state chairman of the association, Kabir Saleh, said although the problem is mostly within frontline local government areas of Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Kajuru, Chikun and parts of Igabi, the federal and state governments must order security agencies to flush the forest areas of criminal elements.

“We need enough security for farmers as they return because farming by the roadside is not the solution to food insecurity. If the security agencies intensify efforts along villages bordering these forest areas and clear them, it would go a long away in securing the farmers to return to their farms without any fear,” he said.