Defence Headquarters has claimed it has deployed troops to farmers in Nigeria’s Northern states, particularly the North West and North Central regions, to ensure a successful crop season and combat food insecurity and inflation.
Maj Gen Edward Buba, Director of Defence Media Operations, confirmed this in a statement on Wednesday. According to him, the deployment has given some farmers access to their crops.
“With the commencement of the rainy season, troops are currently deployed in several of the northern, particularly in the NW and NC states to protect farmers.
“The deployment has enabled several farmers’ access to their farm for a hitch-free planting season towards a bumper harvest,” he said.
Bizwatch Nigeria recalls that the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun also said the police had commenced patrols on farms to boost farmers’ confidence.
“In the North East, we have started farm patrol to give confidence back to farmers to return to the farm. Mr. President is very, very concerned about it, and we are doing our best.
“But let me also add that the security landscape in Nigeria is complex and diverse”, he said.
To that end, Kabir Ibrahim, Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, recently acknowledged that security presence has grown on farms across the country. The news comes as bandits, terrorists, and criminals have wreaked havoc in the regions over the last six months.
According to reports, hundreds of farmers were slaughtered and others kidnapped in the region during the first quarter of 2024.
SBM Intelligence said that farmers in the North paid an estimated N139 million in agricultural taxes to robbers who demanded at least N224 million between 2020 and 2023.
This has contributed to higher food prices in Nigeria. Food inflation in Nigeria increased to 40.87 percent in June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
