Insecurity: Farmers warn over looming food crisis
Farmers in Niger State, yesterday, warned that Nigeria would face serious food crisis if the rising insecurity across the country was not addressed, even as the state government has officially flagged off this year’s farming season and sale of fertilizers to farmers.
Speaking at the official flagging off ceremony in Minna, Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN, Alhaji Shehu Galadima, said, already 11 local government areas in the state had been taken over by bandits, preventing farmers from going to their ancestral homes to farm.
He said, besides Niger State, fillers from most farmers across the Northern part of the country showed that they were also facing similar challenges, saying, “If the issue of insecurity is not handled and put to an end now, there is going to be food crisis across the country as from later this year. Niger State is vast in land mass and 11 LGAs are badly affected as the farmers can no longer go to their farmlands. It is good to give fertilizers to farmers but which farm will they go to when bandits have taken over 11 LGAs”.
Galadima called on the federal and state governments to rescind their decision to withdraw incentives to farmers, noting that, “the withdrawal of incentives to farmers is uncalled for. We want the state government to let the Federal Government know that they need to review it because farmers in Niger State are the worst hit by insecurity as they can no longer go to harvest the crops that they planted”.
He said, most of the farmers who managed to farm last season had now been chased away from their homes and their farms while their seedlings had also been burnt by the bandits.
