‘No farmer will be displaced in Zamfara’

The position of the state went contrary to the one adopted by most other states where farmers are displaced by government, in most cases without compensation, with a view to accommodating foreigners and multinational firms willing to commence large scale farming.There has been outcry by farmers in some states where farmlands were taken over by […]

The position of the state went contrary to the one adopted by most other states where farmers are displaced by government, in most cases without compensation, with a view to accommodating foreigners and multinational firms willing to commence large scale farming.
There has been outcry by farmers in some states where farmlands were taken over by the authorities and allocated to foreign farmers and corporate organisations.
Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar told Daily Trust that this would not be the case in his state.
“Yes, we have been approached by so many Chinese, Australians, Spanish and even German citizens that are looking for how we can develop the agricultural sector which is the mainstay of the state. So, we need not to displace any farmer before giving them land. We have abundant land in the state. And we are willing to partner with them,” he said.
“We are not willing to sell to them the farmlands but willing to give it to them in partnership believing that the production will favour us. Our children that are not employed will be employed and they will teach them the new techniques of agriculture.
“We are working with the Chinese and we are working with the Australians. We are working harder to see how we can give them the land. Most of the issues or the problems of the partners is that they want necessary facilities to be put in place that can enable them have all year round farming. They cannot put their investments where they can only enjoy rain fed farming. They want to do it three times in a year.”
Governor Yari said the foreign farmers are demanding for farmlands around the Bakalori irrigation site in the state where though there are facilities for such triple cropping, the state would have to put more facilities in place to provide for additional farming activities in the state.
He said with Bakalori Dam in place where it already has the facilities for irrigation farming, the state will collaborate with the federal ministries of water resources and that of agriculture to develop the facilities to accommodate the foreign investors who are willing to enhance farming activities in the area.
“So, we are working on that. During the recent visit of Chinese people that came for mass housing development, we took them to the land we have. And they have shown interest in Bakolori, saying that they are going to harvest 100,000 to 200,000 metric tonnes of rice, because the facilities are already there.
 “We are working with them and we are going to collaborate with the federal ministry of water resources and the federal government to see how we can actualise that. They are ready and they don’t need any Kobo from anybody. They are going to bring the investment in energy and agriculture. I think that is a very good development,” he said.
One of the major rice farmers in the state, Alhaji Saidu Sani Mafara, said the foreigners are welcome so long as the local farmers will not be relocated in the process.
“Once the governor said no farmer will be relocated, we believe him. He is a fellow farmer. He knows our worth and he never lied to the people of the state,” he said.
“The coming of the foreign farmers will even be a blessing to us because we may have a lot to learn from them. I understand they are very particular about rice farming. That is one area we really require a lot of knowledge, especially from those that are coming from leading rice farming nations of the world.”