How late preparation cripples rice farming in Katsina

Dry season rice farming, under the federal government’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP), undertaken by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), started in 2015 in some states across the country, but it was only introduced to farmers at the Zobe irrigation site this year by the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) and the Sokoto Rima […]

Dry season rice farming, under the federal government’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP), undertaken by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), started in 2015 in some states across the country, but it was only introduced to farmers at the Zobe irrigation site this year by the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) and the Sokoto Rima River Basin Authority.

Before now, Zobe irrigation farmers were used to rainy season rice farming.

Daily Trust on Sunday, however, gathered that the programme, though accepted by the farmers, came with many challenges as it was introduced in a very short period of time before the farming season, which gave no room for the authorities to train them adequately.

The farmers also complained that inputs were brought to them late, even as majority of the seeds were bad. They also complained that it is either some did not germinate or those that germinated grew tall for more than four months without producing grains.

Other challenges encountered were floods, which destroyed the rice. In some areas, bandits’ activities forced farmers to desert their villages and farms, leaving birds to eat up the rice.

The project manager at Dutsin Ma, Sokoto Rima River Basin zonal office explained that farmers under the programme were registered in five different clusters, and each cluster is made up of more than 100 farmers that came together from a particular area.

He noted that the programme encountered many challenges as there was shortage of inputs supplied, saying, “Dry season rice farming is a new programme here at Zobe Dam, and that is why we see this as a pilot one. Though it comes with many challenges, generally, I can say it has recorded a huge success. We also anticipated some of the challenges the farmers are experiencing, basically because of the timeframe the programme was able to take off.

“That made it necessary for us to rush and distribute the available one we received among the five clusters. Each cluster covers at least about 25 hectares of land,” he said.

In an interview with Daily Trust on Sunday, Alhaji Amadu Speaker, the head of Katsalle Cluster that comprises over 150 farmers, lamented that the farmers received the inputs late and were not given any formal training on the dry season rice farming.

He also noted, “When the Board chairman of the Sokoto Rima River Basin Authority came here to sell the idea of dry season rice farming to us, though we were not given any formal training, we welcomed it wholeheartedly, simply because it came under the CBN Anchor Barrower Programmme.

“But the inputs they brought to us came late and were also incomplete. Some farmers in my cluster received seeds and generators but could not get pipes. And without a pipe you cannot pump water into your farm from the main dam. Some of them got seed and two bags of fertiliser without getting a generator and pipe, and others did not get either of the items.

“Remember that most of us had rented additional farmlands before the arrival of the inputs, with the hope of getting the inputs as promised to them by the authority.

“That was the first challenge we encountered; and later on, we discovered that the seed they brought was bad. Most of us planted it about three times before we could get it to grow. Some of us spent over N400,000 and ended up without getting even one bag of rice.

“They also told us that the seed could be harvested in only three months, but it took us up to six months. That also brought another problem between farmers who rented lands on the agreement that they would only use it for the dry season. They ended up progressing to the rainy season without harvest. Now, the real owners also want to use their farm. The whole situation is confusing.

“There was also the issue of insecurity. Some of our members in Kurechi village were killed by bandits, who also pushed some of their inputs like generators and pipes into the water. That made those that escaped to flee from the village and farms for safety.

“I am, therefore, calling on the state and federal governments to connect with the people and get intelligent reports that can help to bring lasting solutions to the issue of insecurity in Katsina State.”

Other cluster heads that spoke to our correspondent are  Audu Sarkin-Noma, who represents Hajiya Salame Cluster and Hamisu Makera, who represents Makera 2 Cluster. They both complained of getting only two bags of fertiliser to each member of their clusters instead of six that were earlier promised by officials. They also said some birds attacked their farms and ate the grains and none of their members was compensated.

“They promised us six bags of fertiliser per hectare of land, but we ended up getting only bags per hectare. That made it necessary for us to sell our food items and buy the remaining bags at N5,500 each,” Sarkin-Noma said.

On the issue of bird attacks, Makera said, “When we reported the problem to them and they did not take any action, we only applied local ways of repelling the attack by beatings drums or by the use of hanging cassette tapes in the farm so that it would be making distractive sound once there is wind. That was how we were able to keep them away after they destroyed many farms. Already, we have lost many hectares of land to these birds. And we took pictures and handed over to the authorities concerned. But up till now, we have not received any assistance because none of us is formally insured.”

Speaking on the allegation of non-payment of insurance benefits to the farmers, a technical assistant at the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) headquarters in Abuja, who spoke on condition of anonymity, argued that farmers at Zobe Dam were not insured by the corporation.

“Go and find out by yourself, you will see that those farmers are not insured by the NAIC. If there is any circumstance like this, the NAIC always makes sure that any farmer that was insured by us gets paid. But most of the farmers’ organizations, for some reasons only known to them, walked away from us and engaged other private insurance companies,” the source said.

Reacting to the farmers’ complaint, chairman of the RIFAN in Katsina State, Shu’aibu Wakili, explained that the shortage of the inputs was as a result of CBN’s inability to supply the inputs at once, as well as the way the cluster heads distributed it to their members.

He, therefore, called on the CBN to ensure that they supply the inputs against next season in order to avoid the same mistake.

“Let me tell you that the RIFAN did not directly distribute the inputs to the farmers. Immediately we received the first batch from the CBN. We handed it over to the officials of the Sokoto Rima River Basin Authority at Dutsin Ma. I was not even there when they distributed it to the farmers.

“Since the first batch of the input was not complete, cluster heads were expected to look at their list and distribute it turn by turn. In other words, if there are 100 members in a cluster and the cluster head was able to get inputs for only 50 persons from the first batch, he should go ahead and openly distribute it to the first 50 people in his list and tell the remaining 50 to wait till the next batch arrives. But they went ahead and gave out inputs arranged for 50 people to 100 people or so.

“For the shortage of pipe, it is in the agreement that what was approved for us by the CBN, that is, 5m intake and 10m discharge. So if you have anything longer than this, you have to look for it yourself,” Wakili said.

On the issue of fertilizer, he said, “There was no shortage of fertiliser. What happened was that when we went round the farms, we discovered that most of the farmers that claimed to have 1 hectare of land were not telling the truth. We realised that most of them were having 0.5 hectare and that was why we gave them two bags instead of six so as to avoid putting more burdens on their heads.”

On whether farmers under this programme were insured by the NAIC, he said, “Farmers were insured by Polar Insurance through First Bank. I want to tell you that so far, I have not officially received any complaint from Zobe Dam rice farmers. But any farmer with genuine complaints is free to forward it to our office; and I want to assure him that he will be compensated accordingly.”