From Our Correspondent in Gombe
Farmers in Gombe State are now taking unusual steps to safeguard their crops due to rising cases of theft of farm produce.
While some farmers now sleep on their farms to keep vigil, others pay between N30,000 and N50,000 monthly to vigilante groups to safeguard their farms, as they prepare for harvest.
TheNewsZenith gathered that in Billiri, Yamaltu-Deba, Kaltungo, Nafada, Kwami and Akko Local Government Areas farmers now keep 24-hour vigil over their yet-to-be-harvested crops.
Mr Nasiru Usman, a farmer in Kwami LGs said he had moved temporarily to his farm in Nono community because he “couldn’t afford to pay anyone to watch his farm”.
Usman said he had already spent a huge sum in buying farm inputs and that he could not afford extra expenses.
Therefore, he decided to stay on his farm until his crops were harvested and transported to a safer place.
“Even the maize I planted in my house is not safe. On Sunday, my son chased away someone who climbed my fence to steal maize from my compound. The situation is worrisome,” Usman said.
Also, a farmer from Billiri, Mr Ayuba Ali, said crop theft has become a major challenge facing farmers in almost all villages in Billiri.
Ali added that the development had forced farmers in the area to adopt measures to safeguard their produce.
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He said farmers pay up to N40,000 monthly to engage vigilante men to guard their farms. This is now a must, if you don’t, you lose your investment.
“For me, I don’t have that money to spend. So, I have moved temporarily to my farm to sleep and watch over my farm,” he said.
Ali said it had not been easy since he started sleeping on his farm as this was his first time.
Her added that he had no option because he invested a lot in view of the high prices of inputs, especially fertilisers.
For Idris Garba, a rice farmer from Deba community who cultivated 15 hectares of farmland, it is a story of continued spending until harvest.
Garba said that within two months, he had spent N100,000 to engage two vigilantee men whom he paid N25,000 each month.
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“I have two vigilantes who guard my farm against thieves; one watches during the day and the other at night.
“I pay them N25,000 each, so monthly I spend N50,000 and for two months running now, I have been paying them. It will continue until I harvest all my produce,” Garba said.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Gombe, ASP Mahid Abubakar, however, said the Command had not received such a complaint.
Abubakar advised farmers in the state to cultivate the attitude of reporting such cases. If we receive such reports, we will know how to provide adequate security.
“What you don’t know you can’t act on. I am just hearing this for the first time. If we have a formal complaint from the farmers we will take measures” he said.
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