Farmers must be protected to harvest their crops

It is harvest time, and millions of Nigerians are earnestly waiting for this moment, in the hope that the cost of food items like rice, which now goes for over N100,000 for a 50kg bag, will come down. But there are unsavoury reports coming out from Niger and Benue states in North Central, as well […]

It is harvest time, and millions of Nigerians are earnestly waiting for this moment, in the hope that the cost of food items like rice, which now goes for over N100,000 for a 50kg bag, will come down.

But there are unsavoury reports coming out from Niger and Benue states in North Central, as well as Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara and Sokoto states in the North West, that farmers are being forced by bandits and other criminal elements to pay taxes before they could harvest their crops.

These states form a great part of the food basket of Nigeria, where hardworking farmers produce assorted grains like rice, maize, millet, guinea corn, soybeans, yam, potatoes, sesame seed, and others.

They collectively provide staple food and cash crops for millions of citizens, factories and even our neighbouring countries.

It is, therefore, a source of worry that these farmers, after all the difficulties they passed through for months, are now helpless as a result of threats by men of the underworld.

Stories of bandits killing and abducting farmers during harvest season are not new. It is a nightmare year-in-year-out.

In Niger State, for instance, during the harvest season in November 2023, suspected bandits burnt down many maize, soybeans and guinea corn farms on the outskirts of Kontagora, the headquarters of Kontagora Local Government Area of the state.

The bandits also dropped notes on various farms asking owners to pay N30 million levy each or face further attacks.

About a year before then, in December 2022, the bandits killed at least four farmers and abducted over 100 others, including women and children from 14 communities in Mashegu and Rafi local government areas of the state.

The communities attacked included Sabon-Rijiya, Tsohon-Rami, Bakwai-Bakwai, Mulo, Kawo-Mulo, Nasarawa-Mulo, Mai-Azara, Foje, Mutun-Daya, Beji, Gidan-Malam, Bokuta, Chetaku and Gbazhi.

In Rafi and part of Shiroro local government areas, 61 farmers were reportedly kidnapped in Gidigori, Pandogari and Durumi communities.

During the time under review, residents said bandits had also imposed N3 million tax on each of the communities as a condition to stop kidnapping them and to allow them to harvest their farm produce.

Elsewhere in Benue State, the outlaws operating in rural areas recently slammed a N20 million levy on the Torough community of Ukum Local Government Area, according to reports.

At present, the miscreants operate with minimal resistance on the Sankera axis comprising three local government areas of Ukum, Logo and Katsina-Ala, hampering farmers from accessing their farms.

Bandits forcing farmers to pay taxes on the Gobir axis of Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State, and parts of Maru and Tsafe local government areas of Zamfara State is no longer news.

The disturbing scenario is the same in Kaduna State, especially around the Birnin Gwari LGA.

Farmers are consistently crying out that they find it difficult to access their farms, reflecting the pervasive fear among locals due to ongoing threats by bandits.

The area encompassing villages like Kulgin Gabas, Sabon Layi, Shuwaka, and Kakangi under Kakangi ward are under constant siege by bandits who attack at will, instilling a climate of fear and uncertainty. The villagers lamented that they are being hunted like animals in their farms.

This is indeed despicable, and evidently, the trend cannot be separated from absence of civil authority in the affected areas.

It is also a culmination of many factors, including the seeming I-don’t-care posture of those in positions of authority, who have failed to give vulnerable farmers the protection they need.

Be that as it may, thousands of farmers defied all the odds, including high cost of fertilisers, seedlings, insecticides and labour, to ensure they get bumper harvests.

The locals are now once again at the mercy of criminals, considering that at the onset of the rainy season, they were forced to pay levies to till their farms.

Who is responsible for maintaining civil authority in towns and villages? And who will save our farmers from the jaws of bandits?

While it is acknowledged that dozens of high-profile bandits have been taken down in the past few weeks, and we commend our security operatives for that, it remains a serious indictment, a situation whereby non-state actors have continued to slam levies on hapless farmers. It contradicts the claim that there are no ungovernable spaces in Nigeria.

The police, civil defence, and the military must liberate our farmers.

It is their responsibility. Nigerians are tired of excuses.

We are making this position known because the implication of not allowing farmers to harvest their crops is better imagined.

The Nigerian government declared a state of emergency on food security in July 2023, and unveiled a comprehensive intervention plan to tackle food inflation.

However, there is no way any national programme will succeed without food security. President Bola Tinubu must ensure that the much-hyped plan to recruit more policemen and agro-rangers see the light of day.

With millions of Nigerians going to bed hungry, we must all coalesce into a single force and protect our farmers to bring their food home safely.