Hunger continues to spread as terrorists wage war against farmers.
Gambo Ibrahim sold two of his farmlands to raise the N900,000 ransom demanded by kidnappers for the release of his two brothers.. His two brothers were supervising work in one of his farms when they were kidnapped by bandits three years ago.
Thousands of other farmers in Katsina and many other parts of the North-west face similar challenges as Mr Ibrahim from widespread insecurity. Outside the region, PREMIUM TIMES found that farmers in Yobe State and other parts of the North-east are also struggling under the assault of the Boko Haram insurgency, a menace that is decimating agricultural productivity, food sufficiency and nutrition in many parts of Nigeria.
“The first implication of these attacks is a reduction in the number of farmers. Farmers cannot go to their farms,” Sulaiman Iguda, a lecturer at the Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic, told PREMIUM TIMES. Standing beside Mr Sule was Abdullahi Usman, who is now the chairman of the displaced people in Bayari C camp. Mr Usman said he had over 70 cattle and sheep but they were all stolen by the terrorists.He said the state government was not doing enough to help farmers displaced by the insurgency to return to their farms in Yobe State.
Another farmer from Salihawar Rufai village also in Katsina State, Lawal Shehu, told PREMIUM TIMES that he still farms, but “one can’t go more than a kilometre away from the town.”The effect of insecurity on food prices has been severe. A market survey conducted by PREMIUM TIMES in Katsina and Yobe states showed that prices of grains have risen in the past two months, partly because of insecurity.
“There is poverty in the land because farmers are not going to the farm due to insecurity,” a village head in a displaced community in the Gujba area of Yobe said. The man sought to remain anonymous because of security concerns. He said the communities are now relatively safe because security operatives are in some villages but things need to improve more to boost agricultural practice.
Thirty-nine-year-old Abdulkadir Ibrahim of Turo kura, a community in the Gujba area of Yobe State owned four farmlands. He said he produced over 100 bags of beans, millet, and groundnut before the insurgency began.“I now live here and work as a fuel pump attendant. I used to employ people to work for me on my farms; now I am a labourer,” he said.
Agriculture ministry officials in Katsina refused to comment on this story, citing the absence of a commissioner and permanent secretary for the ministry. As of press time, permanent secretaries in the state had been asked to supervise ministries because the state governor was yet to appoint commissioners.
“Here , we record about 40 new cases of children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition and 20 severe acute malnutrition every week. In the three months that I have been here, we have treated more than 270 children suffering from malnutrition,” he said.The increase in malnutrition, according to Mr Garba, is worsened by lack of food, which he said was caused by the Boko Haram insurgency., Rahama Mohammed-Fara, said out of the over two million children in the state, 1.
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