You are here: HomeBusiness2020 01 24Article 339160

Business News of Friday, 24 January 2020

Source: wuzupnigeria.com

Herder crisis forces Nigeria's second largest rice farm to shut down

Rice farm Rice farm

The second commercial largest rice farm in Nigeria by land size, Kereksuk Rice Farm, has forcefully stopped productions as a result of the threats posed by herder crisis.

The rice farm, owned by 37-year-old Rotimi Williams, is situated in Nasarawa state and sits on 45,000 hectares, according to Forbes.

The development comes despite the decision of the Federal Government to shut its borders in a bid to curb rice smuggling and increase local production.

Speaking with the Financial Times of London, Williams said he had been forced to shut down his farm in Nasarawa State due to the conflicts.

“You know what this conflict does? It limits the potential of agriculture,” Williams said.

He said he had to freeze production on his 45,000-hectare site, due in part to attacks on his farm in Nasarawa State.

Williams said across the river from his farm are Taraba and Benue states, both known for clashes between farmers and herders, but also between the Jukun and Tiv communities, who have been killing each other over land disputes.

“There’s no future in agriculture in Nigeria until we solve this strife,” he adds.

The Federal Government recently launched a National Livestock Transformation Plan to encourage cattle development. It replaces the controversial rural grazing area settlements — cattle colonies where herdsmen could relocate.

However, Williams believes such initiatives will not halt the violence altogether.

In late June, he launched Resolute 4.0, a pilot mobile phone app that aims to reduce the clashes between herders and farmers in the Bassa area of Plateau State by mapping farm boundaries and grazing routes.

It also provides early warning alerts and sends information to the Nigerian Army Farms and Ranches, a military unit that promotes agriculture and protects farmers.

When users push a panic button, the app sends an alert to the security forces for rapid response. It has already received 162 alerts.

“No one is going to pump money into Nigerian agriculture if they don’t know when their people would be killed or their assets raided,” he says.

The conflict between farmers and herdsmen is affecting the plan of the Federal Government to reduce the $6bn spent on food importation yearly, according to Financial Times.

“The conflict is hampering the Buhari administration’s plans to reduce the country’s food import bill — about $6bn a year, according to the United Nations — and to increase farm exports, to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on oil as a source of foreign currency earnings,” the report stated.

Also, Brighton Karume, a Zimbabwean agronomist working in Nigeria, says that “until someone solves this, it will be hard to unlock real agricultural growth here because security is a big concern for investors”.

“This land is perfect for agriculture and because it is so fertile herdsmen want it for their cattle,” says farmer Lawrence Zongo, who leads the Committee on Rural Rights and Empowerment in Miango.

After herdsmen attacked his farm in July, he was forced to move to a place where he feels safer, but where there is far less land to grow millet, soya, and corn.

He estimates his annual income will shrink from N1.5m ($4,139) to less than N400,000 ($1,103) this year.

“If farmers run away from their farms because they feel threatened by livestock keepers, what is it going to happen to our food production?” warns Adebowale Akande, executive adviser on agribusiness to the governor of Oyo State.

The cattle-grazing crisis has wider implications. In Africa’s most populous nation, about 60 per cent of livestock is managed by pastoralists while 88 per cent of farmers are smallholders producing most of the country’s farm output, which accounts for some 21 per cent of gross domestic product.