Looting: Tough time awaits dry season farmers

Irrigation farming may suffer a set back as a result of scarcity of farm inputs like fertilisers, seeds, water pumps, pests and chemicals following the recent looting  of warehouses during the EndSARS protest across the country. During the protest, some hoodlums broke into some warehouses and carted away food items and some agricultural inputs. A […]

Irrigation farming may suffer a set back as a result of scarcity of farm inputs like fertilisers, seeds, water pumps, pests and chemicals following the recent looting  of warehouses during the EndSARS protest across the country.

During the protest, some hoodlums broke into some warehouses and carted away food items and some agricultural inputs.

A large-scale rice farmer and owner of Al-Ganzaki Rice Processing Plant in Jalingo, Aliyu Sarkin Noma, alerted that following the looting of warehouses in Jalingo, there might be scarcity of basic inputs, which will result in high cost of production.

He told Daily Trust on Sunday in an interview that tonnes of fertilisers, several units of water pumps, seeds, chemicals, among other inputs meant for rice farming during the dry season in the state were carted away by hoodlums.

He said what happened during the looting in government and private warehouses in Jalingo would affect rice farming in the state during the dry season.

Noma further said the inputs were stored in the warehouses and were to be distributed to rice farmers for the dry season.

He also said thousands of dry season farmers across the state would find it difficult to farm this season due to high cost of inputs.

“The situation will hamper rice production during the dry season in the state this year,’’ he said.

The state chairman of the Rice Farmers Association, Tanko Bobbo Andame, said they were taking stock of destruction by looters in their warehouse, and the national body of the association would soon comment on the matter.

The state government could not respond to the situation at press time as officials said they were still evaluating the extent of damage to the inputs.