Labourers stranded as Taraba farmers abandon irrigation farms

Hundreds of labourers who work on irrigation farms across Taraba State have been left stranded as many farmers have abandoned their lands this season. Every year, between the last week of November and early December, labourers from neighbouring states migrate to Taraba to work on irrigation farms. However, it was gathered that those who arrived […]

Hundreds of labourers who work on irrigation farms across Taraba State have been left stranded as many farmers have abandoned their lands this season.

Every year, between the last week of November and early December, labourers from neighbouring states migrate to Taraba to work on irrigation farms.

However, it was gathered that those who arrived in 2025 are finding it difficult to secure work due to the low participation of farmers in dry-season farming.

Similarly, those who are still engaging in the practice have significantly reduced the scope of their activities.

It was gathered that several factors forced the farmers to abandon their farms, including the poor prices of produce experienced during last year’s harvest, a situation that caused many farmers to lose the capital they invested in their wet-season crops.

Other factors include the high cost of farm inputs such as fuel and labour, leading to fears that they would not recover their investments.

The chairman of the Rice Farmers Association in Taraba State, Tanko Bobbo Andami, told Daily Trust that hundreds of labourers were stranded because available jobs in the fields had vanished compared to previous dry seasons.

He explained that many farmers abandoned their lands while those still active reduced their farm sizes due to the high cost of inputs. Andami said the farmers were yet to recover from the losses of the recent harvest and were afraid to risk their remaining capital on irrigation.

He said, “Currently, a farmer must sell three bags of paddy rice just to buy one bag of fertiliser. Meanwhile, the costs of herbicide, fuel and labour remain high, while the price of farm produce is at its lowest level.’’

He further lamented the lack of federal and state governments’ intervention for irrigation farmers, leaving them to buy inputs at market rates despite the poor returns on their produce.

He warned that under the circumstances, both dry and wet-season farming could collapse in the North because the government was not addressing the hardship farmers faced.

He noted that, “In previous years, thousands of people were engaged in irrigation in the Benue Valley, stretching across Karim-Lamido LGA down to Ibi LGA covering over 150 kilometres. But this year, most of these irrigation fields have been abandoned with no activity going on.’’

Andami further explained that while he usually cultivated hundreds of hectares for irrigation each year, he would be reducing the scope of his farming activities drastically this season.