Crisis: ‘Nasarawa records low food production’

Daily Trust investigation reveals that farmers in most  flash points are still afraid to go to their farms despite state government effort in ensuring sustainable peace in those areas. They believe sporadic attacks still occur at farms that are located far from homes, a situation many farmers admit is responsible for low harvest this year. […]

Daily Trust investigation reveals that farmers in most  flash points are still afraid to go to their farms despite state government effort in ensuring sustainable peace in those areas. They believe sporadic attacks still occur at farms that are located far from homes, a situation many farmers admit is responsible for low harvest this year.
Doma Local Government, which is described as the food basket of Nasarawa State, is one of the local governments that has suffered severe setback in terms of food production as a result of the crisis.
Alhaji Mohammadu Babawo Umar is the chairman of Doma Market Associations. He stressed that there is very little crops sold in the market this wet seasons because many farmers could not go to their farms as a result of the crisis. For those who were able to farm, they could not weed their farms, adding, “You see, all the crops that we produced in the rainy season like melon, maize, groundnut we lack them in abundance this year. You can see that there is low commercial activity in the market.”
Although Umar said some farmers have since gone back to their farms, “Whatever they cultivate now will be for the dry season. But for the rain-fed season, it’s over. What we want is peace so that farmers can go about their normal activities.” He said they used to load 15 to 20 trucks with bags of groundnut for Kano every Wednesday but now, they hardly load one truck.
Abdul Hassan, who owns four hectares of farmland along Rutu-Doma road, told this reporter that he could not go back to farm after his brother was killed in the farm by unknown gun men, adding, “How can I go back to farm?” he asks, “Because you don’t know who is coming behind you with a gun or cutlass while you bend down to work,” he said. He is currently a motor cyclist in Doma town.
Daily Trust met the Sarkin Noma, head of farmers,  Doma, Mallam Osama Alebura who resides in Alagye about 35 kilometers  from Doma, the local government headquarters. He lamented the recurrent attacks in the local government. He told the reporter that, “We have just buried one of our boys killed in the farm this morning. That is our problem. That is the reason why you will see many farmlands uncultivated in the villages.”
He called on government at various levels to send security agencies to the villages so as to guarantee the lives and property of farmers and to enable them engage in their farming activities without fear of attacks.
Samuel Okpadobu is the secretary farmers’ cooperative union, Doma. He said the crisis has affected many members of the association because some were displaced by the conflict. He said some have lost their crops and therefore cannot go back to their farms. According to him, the town is filled with people because farmers have abandoned their farms in the villages because of the issue of insecurity, adding, “They have now run to the town. Before now, the town used to be scanty in the main farming season like this; but look at how the town is filled with people,” he said.
In Assakio, an agricultural town under Lafia local government, Daily Trust leant that there is mutual distrust among the various farmers living in the development area. As a result, going to farm alone is risky, Adagba Makama said.
Assakio it could be recalled was the scene of bloody ethnic clashes between the Eggon and the Alago tribes, which led to the destructions of many lives and property in the area.
Kuje Anzaku who spoke with this reporter said people still find it difficult to go to their farms alone. “People are still scared here, they will rather go to their farms in groups,” he said. Many young people now prefer to do other things like riding commercial motorcycle (Okada) than going to farm because the farms are no longer safe. “Farm produce are very low this year because of the conflicts. Many people lost a lot of things, leaving them with nothing to farm this year,” Anzaku said.
But for Onawo Mohammed, “Life continues and we have since moved on. But I must admit, the conflict has indeed affected our capacity to farm as we used to do in the years gone by.” He admitted that agricultural productivity has been low compare to few years back.
The reporter who travelled through B.A.D in Lafia local government to Burum-Burum in Nasarawa-Eggon local government met many farmers who said farming has been seriously affected and productivity is very low.
One of the farmers, who pleaded anonymity for fear of being attacked by perceived enemies, said he is praying for peace because the crisis has affected many people. He said families are finding it difficult to pay childrens’ school fees because they have lost all they have stored in the clashes. Even the money to farm is not there, he said.