Three years after abandoning their farmlands as a result of terrorists’ onslaughts, a good number of grain farmers in Kaduna State are yet to resume farming activities.

The development signals a looming food security threat in the state and beyond, despite the projection of abundant rainfall this year.

With a vast arable land, Kaduna is one of the major producers of crops such as maize, sorghum, millet and groundnuts. The state produces 10 per cent of the nation’s groundnuts and 22 per cent of corn. Also, they trade their agricultural products with surrounding states.

The major farming areas across the three senatorial zones of the state, is, however, facing security challenges. While the northern and central senatorial zones are facing banditry and cattle rustling challenges, the southern senatorial zone is facing farmers/herders and communal clashes.

In Kaduna central, which comprises of Birnin-Gwari, Igabi, Chikun and parts of Giwa councils, bandits’ activities have driven large-scale farmers out of business. In some part of the Northern senatorial zone such as Zaria and Lere councils, farmers are in distress caused by banditry, but not as pronounced like the situation in the central senatorial zone.

In the Southern Kaduna senatorial axis, the security challenges take a different shape. It is predominantly a mix of farmers/herders, and communal clash, with minor reports on bandits activities preventing people from farming.

In a chat with The Guardian, Abubakar Kankara, who owns a 16-hectare farm in Audu Jangon, said he stopped visiting his farm about four years ago after several attempts by the bandits to kidnap him.

Kankara’s farm is situated at Audu Jangon (hotspot for kidnappers), exactly where bandits launched attack on Kaduna-Abuja train passengers last year.
Abubakar said the bandits set his crops worth about N15 million ablaze after several botched attempts to kidnap him. He noted that the security challenges differ, from farmers/herders clash to banditry and kidnapping, adding that he has stopped farming for over three years.

According to him, “back then, I farm 16 hectares and I used to harvest nothing less than 300 bags of rice, 250 bags of millets and so on and 2,000 crates of eggs yearly. I escaped being kidnapped twice. And after failing to kidnap me, bandits set my crops on fire. I incurred about N15 million losses and since 2019, I never returned to farming.

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Source: The Guardian Newspaper 

https://guardian.ng/features/agro-care/three-years-on-kaduna-farmers-yet-to-return-to-their-farms/