Farmers in Niger State have appealed to the State and Federal Governments to protect them from bandits who have imposed levies on them before harvesting their crops.
The farmers made the appeal to the governments in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria.
They said government intervention was necessary as insecurity has virtually crippled the rural economy.
Aliyu Suleiman, Coordinator of Zone C Maize Association of Nigeria, told NAN in Kontagora that bandits in the area had imposed levies on farmers before harvest.
He said where a farmer failed to pay the bandits, his farm was instantly destroyed by the criminals.
“The bandits recently burnt over 20 maize, guinea corn and soya bean farms in Kontagora, imposed levies and dropped their contact numbers,” Suleiman added.
According to him, the bandits are asking for N30 million from each farmer, failing which they risk losing their farm produce and members of their families.
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He said: “The bandits had burnt the crops the farmers assembled on their farms for processing.
“The people of the area are helpless as everybody is afraid of going to the farm now.”
A maize farmer, Malam Idris Shanu, urged the government to come to their aid so that their efforts in this year’s farming season would not go in vain.
“If this kind of attack continue on our members, we may not have enough food next year,” Shanu said.
Similarly, Hajiya Zuwaira Ajiya, a member of the Nigeria Association of Women in Agriculture, said farmers are facing incessant attacks in the state.
Ajiya also called on the government “to move security agents to the forests” to deal with the menace.
When contacted, the spokesman of the Niger State Police Command, Wasiu Abiodun, said he was not aware of the claims.
“I am yet to receive such a report,” Abiodun, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said.