Galambi Cattle Ranch is located at Galambi, in the Southern part of Bauchi State about 14 km away from the Bauchi metropolis with a total land of about 140 km2.
Recall that the Bauchi State government had on August 23, 2022, announced the leasing out of the old grazing land to a private investor, H& Y Global Ventures, for N150 million.
A stream flowing
Rice farm
Rice farm with fertilizer deficiency
Despite being originally reserved for grazing, about 90% of the Galambi ranch is presently cultivated by local farmers while the little uncultivated lands are grazed by nomadic cattle most owned by Fulani pastoralists.
Groundnuts farm
Farmers cut down most trees in the area, and for lumbering activities, while the little natural vegetation remaining provides a source of firewood and shelter for the inhabitants of the villages surrounding the area.
Maize farm
The main crops cultivated in Galambi Ranch are sorghum grown either sole or mixed with millet and cowpeas, rice and maize, while groundnuts, soya beans, etc, are grown for cash.
Maize farm with fertilizer deficiency
However, farmers cultivating the lands were restricted by the limited access to farming inputs and other needs for the successful harvest of their crops.
Rice farm
Inadequate fertiliser availability or its high cost as well as spraying chemicals remained a major hindrance and the farmers continued to lament.
The farmers resorted to planting groundnuts, cowpeas and other crops that may not necessarily need fertilizer, WikkiTimes learned.
Cowpeas farm
Sama’la Kasimu, a farmer told WikkiTimes that most of the rice farms were negatively affected by the shortage of rainfall in the early months. “You see, it’s these weeks we’re getting enough rain, it’s getting better now.
Kasimu however lamented the high cost of fertilizer which according to him, most of the farms could not get. “Look at this one, no single fertilizer was applied so far”.
Soya beans farm
The peasant farmer also decried that some of the herdsmen grazing in the area destroy the farmlands leaving them in tremendous loss and agony.
Responding, Ado Salihu, a herder maintained that the farmers not only cultivated almost all of the lands in the area but had the audacity to plant crops on the routes of their cattle.
Cows grazing on a mountain
He said the destruction of the farmlands in the area was perpetrated by some members he described as irresponsible. “That habit is not good, how can a responsible person willingly allow animals to destroy what a farmer suffered for months cultivating?”, he inquired in a rhetorical way.
Commercial stones mining site
Meanwhile, some parts of the area are being exploited by miners who produce trenches and troughs to get commercial stones.
