Cattle rustling: Zamfara farmers want animal traction replaced

The Secretary of the Zamfara State chapter of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Alhaji Saidu Tanko Kura, has urged both the federal and state governments to replace animal traction with a robust farm mechanisation system in the state. Speaking with Daily Trust in Gusau, Alhaji Saidu said the call had become necessary because […]

The Secretary of the Zamfara State chapter of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Alhaji Saidu Tanko Kura, has urged both the federal and state governments to replace animal traction with a robust farm mechanisation system in the state.
Speaking with Daily Trust in Gusau, Alhaji Saidu said the call had become necessary because the menace of cattle rustling in the state has seriously affected animal traction in the rural communities.
“Most grassroots farmers heavily rely on animals to till their lands, this is because even the machines for the small holder farmers are not available. The oxen being used to make ridges have been stolen and the few that remain are also being collected by the rustlers at gunpoint,” he said.
He further explained that agriculture is the sole means of survival for the rural populace as such any problem confronting that very important economic activity must be quickly reviewed and solved.
Alhaji Saidu therefore urged the federal government to also introduce Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) on farm mechanisation as it is being done on fertilizer, adding that the number of fertilizer redemption centres should also be increased.
“Since this year’s cropping season has almost started, the federal government should ensure that farm inputs such as fertilizer, insecticide, seeds and other items are timely supplied to the farmers,” he added.
In the same vein, a crop farmer, Alhaji Inusa Dansadau, has tasked governments at all levels to provide machines that are not necessarily heavy duty ones to the peasant farmers.
“There are machines for small holder farmers that are affordable and very easy to operate. Such equipment should be made available to farmers and at affordable price,” he said.
He said farmers in the cattle rustling prone area of Dansadau in Maru local government can’t go deep inside forest to clear their farms for fear of being attacked.
“So many farms are there uncleared because no one dares to go deeper. No farmer would carry animals there because he would be robbed of them. But machines are more reliable and can do a lot of work on vast lands within a short time,” he said.