Government has begun distributing seeds, agricultural tools, water pumps and pesticides to irrigation farmers but the intervention is being thwarted by questionable individuals who are undermining the state’s efforts to eradicate hunger.

Serious setbacks are hampering the Nigerian government’s commitment towards addressing the food crisis in the country.

In July last year, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the food sector.

He said the intention of the government was to find more arable land and to distribute agricultural equipment and seeds to irrigation farmers to enable them to produce crops all year round – even during the dry season.

By doing so, he said, this could increase food security and profitability by enabling farmers to grow a greater range and variety of produce and benefit from seasonal price variations in the market.

The government has now begun to distribute seeds, agricultural tools, water pumps and pesticides to the farmers to try to encourage them to grow more crops. The aim is to eradicate the record-high number of people experiencing dire hunger, improve cultivation and attract investment in the agricultural sector.

But farmers have complained that the government’s efforts are not having the desired effect and many say there should be better oversight because questionable people are undermining the government’s interventions.

Alhaji Bukar Faria, the president of the Jere chapter of the Millennium Multipurpose Cooperative, said farmers had expressed reservations. They said some farmers who had benefited from the distribution of seeds and equipment were not even “real” farmers.

And he claimed that the majority of beneficiaries were selling what agricultural wares they had been given by the government to merchants at low prices – and the equipment was being resold in neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon for a profit.

“Recently, the state government distributed seeds, pesticides, water pumps and food to irrigation farmers across Borno State. But, sadly, we found out that the majority of the beneficiaries are selling their wares at a very low price to vendors, who make a hefty profit by selling the goods to farmers and other merchants in neighbouring countries.

“The vendors are quite brazen. They wait right outside the distribution centres for the farmers to emerge with their wares. They have loads of money and they buy everything the farmer has at a very low cost.

“Unfortunately, the vendors export the equipment to neighboring Chad, Niger and Cameroon where they get good money for the items. The farmers who are selling their wares don’t seem to realise this practice undermines the government’s efforts to try to produce more food and to stop hunger and deprivation in the country.”

Faria said the government had shown some commitment towards addressing the food crisis in the country.

“But it is not doing anything to intervene or tackle farmers who sell the items they are given. The food crisis is going to continue if something is not done about this phenomenon. We are extremely worried about this and have informed the relevant authorities, calling on them to prevent this from continuing.”

Modu Maidaye, a food security analyst, said the government’s initiative to eradicate hunger in the country was a welcome idea.

“But there is much that needs to be done, beyond declaring a state of emergency.

“Since the new administration took office in May last year, we have seen some commitment from the government towards addressing the food crisis. But there has been little progress so far because the government is not addressing setbacks that have emerged.

“The government has spent a lot of money to roll out several interventions to support farmers. But it has come to our attention that agricultural interventions often do not end up in the hands of ‘real’ farmers who are in dire need of help.

“Instead, we have seen that many of the beneficiaries are absentee farmers, many of whom do not work as farmers and, in fact, have never even been on a farm once in their lives. They are being given the agricultural items as compensation for their political contribution.”

Maidaye told RNI that “most of the beneficiaries are not real farmers”. Instead, he said, they are influential individuals who have been nominated by their “political godfathers” to receive the agricultural wares.

“Apart from that, there is another problem that is undermining the entire process. In one of our investigations, we found out that a package meant for one farmer is shared among at least four farmers. During the distribution, one farmer comes forward to receive the aid package. But, behind the scenes, there are two or three other farmers waiting for him. That’s why so of them are selling what tools they receive because they can’t be shared.

“Let me give you an example. If one farmer receives a water pump, there is no way it can be shared between four farmers each from different areas. That is not possible. So, the only solution is for them to sell the pump and share the money.

“We are all aware of the record-high number of people in the country who are hungry. If you want to encourage the farmers to cultivate more produce, don’t simply give them agricultural tools and seeds only – give them some food too. Farmers cannot work on an empty stomach. That’s often why they cook the grain seeds that were given to them to plant to make food so that their families can eat.”

Adamu Aliyu Ngulde