By Femi Oyelola
Agriculture is said to be the sector that can revive any country’s economy and generate revenue due to its enormous opportunities for job creation. Kaduna state is one of the agrarian states in the country that contributes heavily to agricultural development.
According to the most recent data from the Kaduna Bureau of Statistics, (KDBS), Kaduna had a nominal Gross Domestic Product, GDP of N2.9trn ($7.7bn) in 2018, up from N1.9trn ($5.1bn) in 2013. The main drivers of growth in 2018 were agriculture; ICT; trade; public administration; and professional, scientific, and technical services.
The agricultural sector has contributed 38 percent of the GDP in the state and local farmers in the 23 Local Government Areas of the State contributed immensely to making the state one of the food baskets of the nation.
The state in the past had a comparative advantage in the production of several crops, especially maize which it has the capacity to produce as much as 10 million tonnes annually.
However, with the escalation of banditry, and farmers/herdsmen clash, people fled their farmlands thereby abandoning their age-long occupation.
In places like Birnin-Gwari and Giwa Local Government Areas, it was reported that bandits had imposed levies on farmers before allowing them access to their farmlands to cultivate or harvest their farm produce.
This unfortunate situation has caused significant distress among the farming community, leading to disruption in agricultural activities, which has now become a potential threat to food security not only in the state but the nation at large.
According to Mallam Mustapha Ibrahim of Polewire village in Birnin-Gwari LGA, the high rate of insecurity in the state has also continued to deter new agricultural investments in key crop-growing LGAs like Lere, Giwa, Ikara, and Zango Kataf while putting existing agribusinesses in constant peril.
However, with the ongoing holistic onslaught by the security agencies against bandits in their major enclaves like Birnin-Gwari, Giwa, Chikun, Kajuru, and Zango-Kataf, there seems to be an atmosphere of peace that encourages farmers to go back to the farm.
A maize farmer in Maigana in Soba LGA, Abdulazeez Alfa, said because of the activities of bandits he had abandoned his farm for the past three years, but this season he has cultivated his farmland and has planted seeds expecting a bumper harvest.
Similarly, Madam Mary Atok, who farms ginger in the Gora village of Zango-Kataf LGA, said their challenges is not banditry but frequent clashes with herdsmen, which sometimes resulted in unknown gunmen invading their villages killing and maiming innocent people.
Madam Atok said she and other farmers often had to flee for safety, but today, she like other farmers in the area are back to the farm courtesy of the military onslaught against the bandits and the intervention of community leaders to broker peace.
But in Birnin-Gwari LGA, it is a mixed reaction for the farmers. Despite the successes recorded by the military against bandits, leading to the elimination of some key bandit commanders, some farms are still too scared to return to their farmlands.
In Chikun LGA, a native, Samuel Musa, told Weekend Peoples Daily that the Paramount Ruler of Gbagy Chiefdom, SA Gbagy had ordered everyone to return to the farm and they had adhered to it which is what resulted in everywhere being green with crops.
Musa, however, pleaded with the security agencies to sustain the momentum and not allow the evil days to return.
Now that the farmers are back to the farms, it is hoped that the state should expect a bumper harvest this season.
