Banditry: Over 50,000 Hectares Of Farmland In Katsina Abandoned By Farmers, Masari Laments
The emir urged the government to step up efforts to end banditry and kidnapping to protect farmers and other citizens.
by SaharaReporters, New York
May 07, 2021
The Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Masari, says farmers abandoned over 50,000 hectares of farmland in 2020 due to bandits attacks.
Masari stated this on Thursday in Katsina at the launch of the 2021 Maize Wet Season Farming and the first Maise Pyramid in Nigeria.
The event was organised by the Maize Association of Nigeria in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria Anchor Borrower Programme.
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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday extended indefinitely its ‘Naira 4 Dollar Schemeâ introduced to encourage remittances from Nigerians in the Diaspora.
The CBN, in a circular posted on its website, said the initiative initially expected to end this month would continue until further notice in order to sustain the gains of the scheme.
Also yesterday, CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said the bank would continue to resist the importation of maize into the country.
The CBN had in a circular dated March 5, 2021, signed by Mr. A.S. Jibrin, on behalf of the Director, Trade and Exchange Department stated that the âNaira 4 Dollar Scheme,â which became effective in March, would end tomorrow.
The governor, however, said in spite of the disruptions, farmers had recorded good harvest. He noted that the anchor borrower programme had impacted positively on the lives of small scale farmers in the state.
“I wish to express our sincere appreciation to the Federal Government for the current commitment in the fight against banditry, cattle rustling, kidnapping, armed robbery, among others.
“And for initiating the Anchor Borrower Programme, which has supported the government efforts in bringing back the lost glory of the agricultural sector.
“For maize production, from 2016 to 2019, there has been an increase in the hectares cultivated during the periods.
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The Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN) has charged the Nigerian government to sustain the ban on Maize importation into the country to further boost maize production and encourage farmers.
The National President of MAAN Dr Bello Abubakar made this call at the inauguration of the first National Maize Pyramids and flag-off of the 2021 wet season farming organized by MAAN in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Katsina state northwest Nigeria.
Dr Abubakar said maize farmers in the country were currently producing enough to meet up the demand of maize in Nigeria.
“We say no to maize importation into Nigeria and we will always support the Central Bank of Nigeria for denying maize importers forex because the CBN supports President Muhammadu Buhari’s agenda of ‘eat what we produce and produce what we Eat’ as far as maize is concerned we can produce enough for our consumption and industrial use”, he noted.
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