Over 100 Hectares of Farms destroyed in Yobe – AFAN

The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has alleged that its members in Yobe State lost over 100 hectares of farmland to Boko Haram terrorists and criminal herdsmen in three Local Governments Areas of the state.

The development was disclosed by the state chairman of the association, Alhaji Usman Ngari. According to him, the Gujiba, Geidam and Yunusari Local Government Areas were facing serious challenges of insecurity, coupled with the challenges they face during harvests where herders destroy some of their farms with cattle.

“More than a hundred hectares of farmland were destroyed by terrorists and herdsmen,” Ngari lamented. However, he commended farmers in the state, saying despite the minimal rainfall they witnessed during the rainy season they still produced a good harvest.

“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.

Meanwhile, he said there was an ongoing registration of farmers who are interested in irrigation, noting that many farmers were showing interest.

Furthermore, 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. According to him, an agreement was reached 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 the 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 added. On the Boko Haram insurgency, the state AFAN chairman said there was an arrangement for a joint task force comprising traditional hunters, police and the military to secure farmers on their farms.

source  Agro Nigeria