As bandits continue to wreak havoc in conflict-torn Zamfara State, FIJ’s Mohammed Taoheed digs deep to unravel what the crisis means for small-scale farmers.
A 50-year-old recounts how he once harvested large bags of produce annually from his farm, but gone are those days, as his farming output has dropped drastically due to banditry. “I can’t go to some of my farms due to the worsening insecurity in our area,” he told FIJ. “These bandits can kidnap or kill you anytime.”
Credit: Mohammed Taoheed || FIJ Nigeria
ZAMFARA, A HOTBED FOR VIOLENCE
Nigeria’s Northwest, Zamfara State especially, is plagued by a deadly crisis being perpetrated by criminal gangs famously known as bandits.
According to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a conflict data aggregator, these bandits killed more than 2,600 civilians in 2021, an increase of over 250 per cent from 2020.
Also, the American Security Project stated in its 2021 report that about 200,000 people fled the violence and remained internally displaced without humanitarian support.
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Despite a plethora of military campaigns launched against them, bandits have proven strong in their clandestine tactics.
For Zamfara, which slogan is ‘farming is our pride’, it is not yet Uhuru for the farmers, as working on their farms means two things: either you harvest your crops with the hope of making cool cash or pay bales of money as ransom to save your life from abductors.
The decade-long crisis spells woes on agrarian communities, with locals witnessing more terror attacks than ever. This has spiked the cost of living in the state.
“So, we have completely abandoned some parts of our farms because of these bandits. You won’t even dare to go near the places,” the farmer said.
Earlier in the planting year, he had a picture of what he would make as a profit. Unfortunately, his hope crumbled before him barely two months later, as the bandits intensified their attacks, which made many locals run for dear life.
“Before now, I was a proud producer of more than 100 bags of grains, but I cannot get half of this from my farm again. These bandits have crippled almost all the farming activities in our area. People are no longer cultivating at all,” said the farmer, who resides in Bungudu LGA.
He told FIJ that an unstable future lay ahead for his agribusiness because of his large family. He wondered how to manage a household of three wives and 15 children when his only source of income dangled in the air.
He explained that he could not leave the village as the other 13 local government areas that made up the state were also caught at the crossroads of violence, adding that it diminished his passion for agricultural activities.
“I am now managing a spare parts business in Gusau,” he said.
‘ONE-KILOMETRE JOURNEY WILL LAND YOU IN TROUBLE’
“We went to only farms that were near our houses; you can’t go beyond this. To be frank with you, any journey here that takes you two kilometres away from home will land you in trouble,” said Buhari Kabir (not real name), a farmer from Tofa Ward in Bugundu LGA.
He said some fertile and spacious farmlands had become bushy areas.
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Recent data from the SBM intelligence firm estimated that 3,620 people were abducted in 582 incidents in Nigeria, with at least N5 billion calculated as the ransom demands and Zamfara contributing N9 million to this.
Ransoms demanded and paid in Nigeria || SBM Intelligence
Corroborating his statement, the farmer narrated that his relative was cruelly murdered after his abductors collected the ransom demanded.
“I remember the time they killed him. They kidnapped him on his return from a trip. Initially, they asked for a ransom and we obliged by paying immediately,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we still lost him to them. They claimed that the sum was not enough; they dumped his corpse beside the road.”
FIJ learned that the terrorists usually arrive at the villages on motorcycles and with sophisticated weapons. Any breathing soul they meet during this operation is either kidnapped or killed.
Sometimes, bandits bring their cattle to feed on the remnants of what is left for the farmers, thus destroying the potential for new seedlings to germinate.
Another farmer, who asked not to be named, told FIJ that women were recently kidnapped in his village in Bugundu LGA.
“They kidnapped women in our area and some vigilantes followed them back. Eventually, they released a few but went with others. I scampered for safety and drove my motorcycle where you met me,” the 40-year-old man said.
“We are used to running away on hearing the sound of motorcycles when working on our farms, because it signals that they’ve arrived.”
CHASED BY DEMONS, FARMING AT BACKYARD
We took our findings to Abdulhafiz Alkali, the national publicity secretary of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN). Alkali confirmed the concerns of the farmers we spoke to earlier.
He said, “The situation of farming activities in Zamfara has reached the point that any farmer cannot easily go to their farms even one kilometre from the capital because nobody will tell you when these bandits will strike.
Credit: Abulhafiz Alkali/Facebook
“For more than eight years, all the 14 local government areas have had the same problem of banditry. Ninety percent of Zamfara indigenes are into farming affairs, and the state now has only a few farmers. Majority are farming at their backyards to escape this problem of insecurity.
“More than five members of my family have been kidnapped. Just three months ago, one of my younger brothers got abducted again. He’s just 22 years old.”
Alkali believe that insiders who aid and abet bandits in their operations are responsible for the rise of the kidnapping business. He revealed that these unknown neighbours of theirs give information to terrorists about the statuses of their targets.
“They give information about the income or gains of your family. You must pay a huge amount before you get a victim out. Some groups accept less than a million or above. The ransom depends on what they bargain with your family,” he told FIJ.
“Honestly, no support from our governments — either the state government or the Federal Government of Nigeriaqqqqqqqqqqqq
‘HARVEST LEVY’: TRAPPED IN THE WEB OF EXTORTION
Over the years, bandits in Zamfara have taxed farmers as a new way to earn money from them aside from kidnapping for ransom and cattle rustling. Checks by FIJ reveal that to ensure a swift payment, bandits usually threaten to block access to farmlands and ransack the settlements of farmers.
Most farmers struggle hard to pay the extortive levy in order to avert another brazen attack. A GI-TOC report revealed that in August 2022 alone, two local government areas in Zamfara paid the sum of N8.3 million as harvest levies to different bands of bandits.
Alkali said that farmers, especially those in rural areas, paid the levies to the bandits despite the difficulties they were facing.
“And it’s compulsory for everyone to do a hectare. It is about N50,000 for each individual,” he explained.
A source, who pleaded anonymity to avert reprisal, narrated how bandits imposed an exorbitant levy before locals could have access to their farmlands.
The resident of Biyabiki under Yandoton Daji ward, Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, said it was after pleas that their de-facto rulers agreed to this sum.
“Less than two weeks ago, bandits imposed a levy of N3 million on us to be allowed to harvest our farm products,” he said.
“They imposed the levy on my village and three other neighboring communities, including Gobirawa.
“Three communities were initially told to pay 3 million each until our elders begged them and they eventually agreed that we all pay this.”
When asked by FIJ if they had raised the sum, he said: “We just contributed the money; some of us that had harvested our farm products sold them all and gave them the money.”
Incidents of illegal taxation on farmers by bandits in Zamfara State || GI-TOC
LIVING IN BONDAGE, EMPTY DREAMS
A farmer in Birnin Magaji LGA said that he had promised himself a good harvest in the new month of January 2023. With a family of three, he has enough hands to work and till the ground for the planting. But then, a barricade sets in.
“I can’t go to my farms. The bandits have taken control of most of our large farms. They dominate all the farms, so we dare not go there,” said the farmer.
The farmer believes that his early thirties is the right time for him to work very hard but insecurity won’t allow him.
“I’m afraid of going to my farm,” he told FIJ.
He maintained that he would not say he was not a victim of the kidnapping business because since they took away his Muslim brothers, he was also affected.
“Before, l could produce 50 bags of grains. I can hardly raise 15 to 20 bags from the land I am managing now,” he said.
“If possible, l want to go back to our village to continue with our normal lives.
“Even if the government is doing something to assist the farmers, we are not aware because no assistance has reached us. The only thing that we want the government to do is end this insecurity.”
EFFECT
Agriculture remains one of the lucrative businesses for many Nigerians to ensure sustainability. In 2021, the sector contributed 21.2 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country.
Contribution of Agriculture to Nigeria’s GDP. Credit: Mohammed Taoheed/FIJ Nigeria
Waliyat Oloyede, a lecturer in the department of agricultural economics and farm management at the University of Ilorin, said that although Nigeria had started efforts towards positioning the agricultural sector as an important aspect of the economy, banditry still brought setbacks to local farmers.
“Imagine that a farmer who grows some food for his family is unable to sell them and now has to flee their only means of livelihood because they’re scared that somebody might kill them on these farms,” Oloyede said.
Credit: Mohammed Taoheed || FIJ Nigeria
“Prices of food commodities become expensive because the economic activities of the state have been displaced and this will affect purchasing power of even the consumers, causing nutrition insecurity if one is not eating well.
“This will affect the supply of agricultural produce, and food is the most essential for the survival of human beings. How does an economy function properly when there is a food shortage?
“The consequence is an intertwined effect because it trickles down to other aspects of life, so there is more for the government and stakeholders to do to help the situation.”
Oloyede said that the perception of local farmers despite their potential might be responsible for the low support from the government, arguing that “agriculture might be termed a poor man’s profession but it is the producer of the food that all of us consume.
“The issue of insecurity should be first on the top priorities of Zamfara. We need to direct efforts to curb the insecurity of local farmers. I would want the government to do more for the farmers,” she said.
LOW SUPPORT, NOT YET UHURU
Over 50 percent of farmlands in the state are currently abandoned due to fear of bandit attacks, FIJ can establish.
Sources who spoke with FIJ said they suffered amidst low support from the government.
“There is no effort from the governments to support us so far,” the farmer told this reporter.
“All we need now is peace and stability. The restoration of peace is essential in our communities so that people can go back to their villages without harm and continue to work on their farms with calmness,” he added.
“Peace is everything. If we have security, our peace is guaranteed, and this means that we have everything.”
FIJ conducted a random market survey to ascertain the prices of food products in the state. Those who responded to our enquiries explained that the prices look like rockets nowadays.
A middle-aged man from Talata Mafara LGA noted that prices had doubled.
“Around 2019, we used to buy a bag of rice at the rate of N12,000, but it now gulps about N30,000. The price of millet has increased, and so is maize. That’s how things keep changing due to insecurity and other problems like fuel subsidy.”
A regular purchaser of maize from Anka Market in Anka LGA said that what he once paid for 10 molds would only get one off the stall now.
A PROMISE, YET MORE ATTACKS
“They (bandits) demanded the money with the promise of not attacking people who paid, but they continued to attack them to get more money. Worse, they used the money to acquire more guns to terrorise them more,” Imrana Buba Alhaji, a security expert, commented while speaking on the harvest levy.
Buba, a PhD researcher on the dynamics of violence at the University of Oslo, Norway, argued that food prices would continue to skyrocket until the government directed support towards the farmers.
“The government must increase its intelligence capacity and other measures to protect smaller towns which are often more vulnerable,” he recommended.
“Farmers and farming communities in Zamfara are hard-pressed on all sides. The protracted and routine disruption of farmlands would make it costly to invest in farming because of the significant risks to life and the high chance that farmers won’t even be able to harvest their crops because of bandit attacks on farms,” Leena Hoffman, an associate fellow at London-based think tank Chatham House, told FIJ.
The expert said “bandits are institutionalising the extortion at a massive scale” since the security institutions are limited in providing solutions to the continuous impoverishment of residents.
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“Once these criminal informal economies take root, it is very hard to uproot them,” Hoffman said.
ZAMFARA GOVT KEEPS SEALED LIPS
In a bid to know the efforts of the government towards the issue facing the farmers, FIJ contacted the Zamfara State Ministry of Agriculture through an email address seen on its official website. The mailing system returned it as “not found”.
We contacted Sulaiman Bala Idris, the spokesperson to Dauda Lawal, the Governor of Zamfara State.
On hearing our findings, Bala said, “No problem. I’ll respond to the questions later. I am having a meeting now, followed by an interview.”
When FIJ reached out to him again an hour later, he told us that his “interview is yet to start”.
Further messages sent to him were ignored and he had not returned our calls at press time.
Names of sources redacted for security reasons
