Borno farmers set to return to farm

Farmers in Borno State deprived from going to farm for many years by insurgents now hope to resume their farming activities with the slow return of peace. Some of the farmers that spoke to Daily Trust in Maiduguri, the state’s capital, said they were aware that the state government intended to support the farmers to […]

Farmers in Borno State deprived from going to farm for many years by insurgents now hope to resume their farming activities with the slow return of peace.
Some of the farmers that spoke to Daily Trust in Maiduguri, the state’s capital, said they were aware that the state government intended to support the farmers to embark on high scale commercial farming as soon as insurgency activities were reduced to bearable level.
 Modu Fannami is a beans and maize farmer in Baga area of the state, who said for three years now he could not access his farm. 
“I am not bothered at all because someone took me to the Farm Centre along Gamboru road where I saw the 2,000 tractors bought by Governor Shettima for farmers in the state,” he said. 
“I saw the combined harvesters, the planters and other farming equipment waiting to be distributed. I think the luckiest people in the state are farmers. I am eager to go back to farm. I will certainly expand my farm to produce more crops. We are praying hard for normalcy to be restored fast,”he added.
Another farmer, Mustapha Aisami, who was into the production of beans, maize and millet in his farm about 14 kilometres along Molai to Damboa road, said he stopped going to farm after insurgents stormed the area and destroyed his crops.
He said: “I will forever remain a farmer, especially as the state government has acquired large quantity of high yielding assorted seeds for farmers in the state. My problem has been access to improved seeds and fertiliser. The governor said he will provide us with everything needed to improve our agricultural production.”
Governor Kashim Shettima told people of the state that he would assist farmers to enable them transform from subsistent to commercial farming.