Bandits have set harvested maize ablaze on farms in Kwaga village and Unguwar Zako, located in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, leaving the affected farmers devastated.
This incident, which occurred on Sunday, happened exactly eight days after the issuance of a projection that 33.1 million people in 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will face a food and nutrition crisis between June and August next year.
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The projection was the outcome of an analysis by the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation, the World Food Programme, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and other partners.
It listed the affected states to include Kaduna, in which this latest incident occurred, Sokoto, Zamfara, Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe, Taraba, Katsina, Jigawa, Kano, Bauchi, Plateau, Kebbi, Niger and Benue.
The incident of Sunday in the communities in Birnin Gwari LGA of Kaduna State has brought in another layer of difficulty for the farmers, who had passed through different challenges right from the time of planting to harvest.
This newspaper had reported severally that farmers in Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, and many other states in the northern part of the country had to pay bandits money before they were allowed to access their farms to plant their crops.
During harvest time, some of them had to yet again pay the bandits before they were allowed to take the produce home.
This is amid fears that despite noticeable bumper harvests in various parts of the country, food shortages could be imminent unless farmers and their farms are protected.
The latest incident
Speaking with our correspondent yesterday, the
farmers in Kwaga village and Unguwar Zako expressed frustration, stating that despite ongoing efforts by security agencies to curb banditry, attacks on farming communities persist.
They recounted a similar incident in Kakangi village, Kaduna, last year, where a confrontation between bandits and community members resulted in the outlaws setting fire to harvested crops.
Locals said the bandits on Sunday night, invaded farms in Kwaga village and Unguwar Zako and set fire to all the harvested maize.
Daily Trust obtained a video clip of the incident showing the charred remains of the affected farms.
The farmers, who rely heavily on maize cultivation, lamented the massive losses.
Kabiru Halilu Kwaga, one of the affected farmers, recounted how he had harvested over 160 bags of maize last year and anticipated a similar yield this season, only to see all his crops destroyed.
Others, like Surajo Kwaga and Malam Dan Gido, also faced significant losses after their entire crops were burned.
Surajo, who had harvested 40 bags of maize from his farm last year, lost his entire crop to the bandits’ fire. Malam Dan Gido, who had harvested 50 bags the previous year and anticipated around 65 bags this season, also saw his harvest destroyed.
Jibril Haladu Kwaga was also affected, losing all of his harvested maize in the incident. The farmers, devastated by the losses, prayed for divine consolation.
Abubakar Jibril Kwaga, another affected farmer, shared his grief, saying he typically harvested over 100 bags annually but this year managed to salvage only three bags from his farms, as the rest were set ablaze by the attackers.
“It’s sad because I managed to gather three bags from the farms as they (bandits) burnt the rest,” he simply said.
Alhaji Halo Kwaga, another affected farmer, reported that the bandits also set his soya beans crop on fire. Last year, he harvested about 100 bags of soya beans.
“This year, I planted three modus of soya bean seeds and applied around 20 bags of fertilizer on the farm, but all that is gone now,” he lamented.
Jamboros behind our ordeal
Confirming the incident, Ishaq Usman Kasai, the Chairman of the Birnin Gwari-Niger Interboundaries Communities Association, said the group responsible is allegedly led by a notorious bandit known as Yellow Jamboros, who has been terrorizing communities in the area.
Kasai explained that attacks like these worsen food insecurity in the area, as many residents depend on maize farming for survival.
He said this tactic of burning harvested crops represents a new and troubling strategy by the bandits this year, posing a severe threat to food security in the region.
“Most of these farmers rely on maize farming, and the destruction of their harvested crops is a serious situation that must be addressed,” he said.
Kasai noted that while security forces are actively working to secure the Kaduna-Birnin Gwari highway, bandits have increasingly targeted isolated villages, intensifying their attacks on vulnerable farming communities.
He called on the government to take decisive actions to prevent such incidents from recurring and protect the livelihoods of farmers essential to the region’s food supply.
Imam Muhammadu Udawa, a community leader from the neighboring village of Udawa along the Kaduna-Birnin Gwari road, said the burning of harvested crops marks a troubling tactic by bandits.
“Previously, villagers were typically forced to pay levies to the bandits before being allowed to plant or harvest on their farms,” he said, noting that this shift to outright destruction of crops escalates the threat faced by farming communities.
The lawmaker representing the areas affected in the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Yahaya Musa, said that he was yet to receive an official report on the incident.
He, however, expressed concern over the potential consequences, noting that if left unaddressed, such actions could exacerbate food shortages and drive up prices.
“This is disturbing if not tackled, as it will lead to a shortage of food items and cause an increase in prices.
“We are already facing skyrocketing food prices, so this is a dangerous method. If it continues, it will severely impact the cost of food items,” he added.
The Kaduna State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansir Hassan, confirmed the incident, saying investigation has commenced without providing any further details.
Attempts to reach Ibraheem Musa, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Uba Sani, for comments on the incident were unsuccessful. As at the time this report was filed, he had yet to respond to calls put across to him and text messages sent to him.
Daily Trust had reported that bandits, last month, demanded N11 million from villages in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State as a precondition for crop harvesting.
A report by SBM Intelligence, an Africa-focused geopolitical research firm, said farmers in Nigeria’s North-West region have paid N139.5 million in levies to bandits over four years (20202023), which has exacerbated food insecurity and poverty.
“Across the north in the past four years, militants have made a fortune through various levies imposed on agrarian communities running into millions, which have exacerbated food insecurity and made people poorer,” the report, titled ‘Levies or Lives – The Dilemma of Farmers in Northern Nigeria’ said.
Culled from Daily Trust
