September 14, (THEWILL) — Last week’s report that farmers in agrarian communities of the northern part of Nigeria are in “a precarious dilemma” as suspected bandits imposed hefty taxes and levies on them before they could assess their farms or harvest their crops sounds familiar, yet unbelievable.
Familiar because since July 2019 through March 1, 2024 when it was reported that farmers pay between N70,000 and N100,000 to bandits for permission to plant their crops and August 1, 2025 when farmers reportedly lamented that despite paying the levies the bandits still invaded their villages to rustle livestock and loot food supplies, reports abounded that bandits carry out a form of extortion by taxing farming activities in some states in the Northeast as a way to gain revenue.
In fact, a report, titled ‘Levies or Lives – The Dilemma of Farmers in Northern Nigeria’ by SBM Intelligence, an Africa-focused geopolitical research firm, lamented that the affected farmers have paid a total of said a total of N224.9 million to within a 2020-2023 period.
“For farmers in these areas, working on their farms poses a dual risk: either they attempt to harvest their crops with hopes of earning a living, or they pay hefty ransoms to save themselves from abductors,” it said.
Unbelievable because in August 2024 the Federal Government reportedly deployed specialized units to combat insecurity and secure the farms for enhanced food security.
In that campaign, the government deployed 10,000 Agro Rangers through the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. Additionally, the Nigerian Army deployed troops to protect farmers from herder-farmer conflict and bandits, particularly in the Northwest and North Central geo-political zones.
One year down the line, the old story is not only the same but has worsened. The result has been a lamentable dilemma for farmers and lost hope of ever securing agriculture as a lucrative occupation. This has led to malnourishment, rotted farm produce and displaced farming communities from the villages to headquarters of Local Government Areas in the affected states.
Worst-hit local government areas are in Benue, Borno, Niger, Plateau, Zamfara, Taraba, Benue states.
“Imagine a levy of N5 million on a farmer whose farm is not worth N2 million, and in most cases, farmers are grouped together to pay such a levy.” The levy you pay sometimes depends on the type of crop you plant. The consequences of non-payment are grave and often result in massacres, destruction of crops and attacks on villages,’’ a farmer reportedly lamented, summing up the dire situation that appears to have defied solution.
It needs repeating that as a developing country with decaying infrastructure, low energy supply, low capacity utilization in the country’s manufacturing sector, Nigeria cannot afford to allow agriculture to die from the activities of bandits and terrorists. Apart from providing employment for a large number of people in the country, agriculture is the foundation for economic growth and stability in any country. A nation without food security for its citizens can only depend on food from outsiders. And like a beggar, its people’s stomach will depend on the availability of leftovers from its benefactors, a situation worse than slavery.
Whatever happened to the Agro-Ranger policy of the government has to be looked into and rejigged for effectiveness. Allowing bandits and terrorists to roam free, impose levies on farming is an act that strikes at the core of the peoples livelihood; this is more than a threat to their very existence and the ultimate survival of the country. It strikes at the heart of one trillion dollar economy as planned by the federal government.
