The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has said that their members in Yobe State lost over 100 hectares of farmland to Boko Haram terrorists and criminal herdsmen in three local governments.
The chairman, Yobe State Chapter of AFAN Alhaji Usman Ngari, disclosed this during an interview with the Nigerian Tribune recently.
“Gujiba, Geidam and Yunusari Local Government areas are facing challenges of insecurity and also during the harvest, they face challenges with herders who destroy some of the farms with their cattle.
“More than hundred hectares of farmland was destroyed by terrorists and herdsmen,” Ngari lamented.
He said despite that, farmers in the state produced good harvest with minimal rainfall they witnessed during the rainy season.
“This year, the farmers have really done well, only in some parts, the rains stopped earlier, but overall production has been good but it is not 100 per cent”, he added.
He however said there is an on-going registration of farmers who are interested in irrigation, and many farmers are showing interest.
Going forward, Alhaji Ngari said a meeting was held between AFAN, herders and the Federal Government to find a lasting solution to the crisis between the farmers and herders.
He said it was agreed that the grazing reserve which was taken away by farmers would be returned to the herders so that they can keep their livestock there without encroaching into farms.
“We have made two major arrangements for the January dry season farming, firstly, we had a meeting with herders together with the federal government to return the grazing reserves that were taken away by the farms to the herders so that they will have enough grass and water for their livestock”, he noted.
On Boko Haram, the Yobe State AFAN chairman said there is an arrangement for a joint task force comprising traditional hunters, police and military to secure farmers on their farms.
“For the insurgency, there will be a joint traditional hunters, police and military to safeguard the farmers in their farms,” he added.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…
Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train
The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…
[ICYMI] Lekki Shootings: Why We Lied About Our Presence — General Taiwo
The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry probing the killings at Lekki Toll Gate, on Saturday resumed viewing of the 24hrs footage of the October 20, 2020 shooting of #EndSARS protesters by personnel of the Nigerian Army…
ICYMI: How We Carried Out The 1993 Nigerian Airways Hijack —Ogunderu
On Monday, October 25, 1993, in the heat of June 12 annulment agitations, four Nigerian youngsters, Richard Ajibola Ogunderu, Kabir Adenuga, Benneth Oluwadaisi and Kenny Razak-Lawal, did the unthinkable! They hijacked an Abuja-bound aircraft, the Nigerian Airways airbus A310, and diverted it to Niger Republic. How did they so it? Excerpts…
Sahabi Danladi Mahuta, a community mobiliser and APC chieftain. Mahuta spoke to select journalists at the sidelines of an Islamic conference in Abuja recently. Excerpts…
and then