As the new planting season commences, farming communities in Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Yobe states are enduring extreme intimidation rather than typical seasonal optimism. Armed groups are increasingly forcing distressed farmers to pay illegal taxes to access their own land.
In June, criminals demanded a 20 million Naira payment from Kwandawa village in Katsina, threatening residents with eviction. Similarly, residents in 26 Sabon Birni communities in Sokoto were forced to pool funds to meet demands imposed by gunmen who blocked access to local fields. Further reports from Kano and Katsina indicate that bandits are extorting sugarcane farmers by charging up to 50,000 Naira per acre, effectively running a shadow governance structure within forest reserves.
Abdullahi Ali Mai Biredi, the Kano State Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, emphasized that these persistent attacks threaten national food supplies. He noted that small-scale farmers are critical to the country’s food security. He warned that if these individuals remain unable to cultivate their crops, the resulting food shortages could paradoxically trigger even greater instability. While acknowledging recent government and security efforts that have allowed some farming to resume in border regions, Mai Biredi urged authorities to address the underlying causes of the ongoing violence.
