Rifnote
By Ladesope Ladelokun
The Federal Government must be alive to its primary responsibility of securing lives and property if Nigeria must improve its productivity index in the agricultural sector.
With grim realities of the insecurity problems bedeviling Nigeria, farming has become a very risky business, going by the burgeoning figure of farmers killed in the course of doing their legitimate business.
These were the views expressed by public affairs analyst, Ibileye Ayodeji, during his appearance on Daybreak Africa, a daily morning show on KAFTAN TV where he discussed the topic: “Productivity in Africa- Between Government and the People.”
Mr. Ibileye on the set of Daybreak Africa
Ayodeji opined that Nigeria will not achieve any significant improvement in the agricultural sector until farmers feel safe again on their farms, noting that commercial farming that can boost productivity index is grossly affected by insecurity.
Last week, Vanguard newspaper had reported how herdsmen chased farmers away from their farms, seized their farms for grazing and raped their women in Obiaruku, Umutu, and other communities in Ukwuani Local Government Area, Delta State
The Onotuku-General of Obiaruku, High Chief Dickson Odogwu, said: “For over one month now, nobody can go to the farm because of the problem of herdsmen grazing their cattle in our bush.
Even if they go to the farm, the women will be raped. Many boys were tied to the trees and shot and inflicted with cutlass injuries.”
“When they are grazing, they uproot the cassava for their cows to eat. Many of our crops have been destroyed. Before now, they have been kidnapping our people on a daily basis. This is a serious problem. Some of the boys and women come here every day to beg me to help to remove herdsmen from our bush so that they can get something to eat.”
Recall that a new report by the Institute of Development Studies, a UK-based think tank, recently placed Nigeria as the second poorest country in the world in terms of food affordability.
The top 10 countries where basic food is least affordable in are Syria, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Indonesia, Algeria, Iran and Uzbekistan.
