By Adadareporters
The Enugu State Graduate Farmers, a composition of ambitious farmers, has cried out following the invasion of their rice farmlands covering over 35,000 hectares of land by herders in the state.
Our correspondent gathered that the incident happened at Ojoloko farm site at Umuiba, Nara, in Nkanu East Local Government Area of the state.
The owners claimed they had lost so much, more so as they obtained loan facilities from financial institutions.
Mr Patrick Mba, the group’s president, said the farmers lost billions of naira to the invasion, adding that the bank that lent them the credit facilities is currently pursuing to repay the loan.
In his words, “We are those farmers trained by the Enugu State Government during the tenure of former Governor Sullivan Chime.
“We started farming at Adani in Uzouwani Local Government Area, but when the farm was handed over to another company, we relocated to Nara where we have over 50, 000 hectares of land.
“We cultivated 35,000 hectares with rice both certified seed and paddy rice since 2020. In 2021, we borrowed money and did the farming, but when we were about to harvest, cows ate 80 per cent of the rice. They are in our farm on Sunday and Monday grazing and setting the rest on fire.”
Mba said the matter was reported to Amagunze Police Station. Quoting him, “We have once been invited for a meeting, but after the meeting the herders came back and did worse.
“We are appealing to the government to help us stop them from entering our farms as well as organisations to come to our aid as most have lost confidence in farming.
“Since 2020 that we started, we have lost all that we planted worth N1.5 billion, but this year’s experience is too adverse.”
Another victim, Chukwudinka Ezeihu, said the herders’ invasion ‘is devastating’.
He said, “This year alone, we have lost billions of naira. How do we pay people that invested their money in the business?
“When we sent out videos of the destruction early this January, I made a statement at the Amagunze Police Station where they gave us someone to mediate between the farmers and the herders.;The herders agreed to compensate us.
“How can they be telling somebody who had lost over N1 million that he is going to be paid N200,000 as compensation?”
Another victim, Emeka Ugwuja, said, “If you go to the police there now, you will see five different complaints on the same issue. Most families are already leaving their houses. My own farm is valued at N10 million. They are negotiating to pay compensation of N500,000.
“Government should please chase those herders from the agrarian community as our means of livelihood have been affected.”
Chidike Ukoh, the founding president of the National Youths Empowerment Association, Africa, a civil society organisation, said he received a call on the emergency situation of the farm. According to him, Enugu graduates farmers were partners with them for over 12 years consistently.
He stated that, “We have done some interventions for them and they are a wonderful and fantastic group. They told us that herders invaded their farms and destroyed it. I have visited the farm to see things for myself. The rice fields were burnt, (and) some packed rice was marched by cows, making it impossible to pick them.
“What I saw was heartbreaking as some rice heaps they cut waiting for threshing were set on fire. On getting there on Sunday, some rice was still burning.
“Our own interest is peace, mediation and sustained peace as a civil society organisation. Let the livestock and rice farmers coexist as nature provides and not one putting the other into indebtedness and suffering.
“Let there be security and with their action, the national food security by President Bola Tinubu will not be achieved.”
Abubakar Sambo, leader of Hausa community in Enugu State, described it as ‘very unfortunate’.
Sambo called for establishment of ranching to stop the animals from entering into farms: “From the complaints I have received, the destruction is much, and it is saddening that people will cultivate and somebody will destroy it. We are doing our best to see that those involved pay compensation.”
The divisional police officer in the area, who did not want his name mentioned in the story, told NAN that they were aware of the situation, adding that the division had visited the farmland several times.
“We are doing our best to curtail their activities which are becoming too much,” he said.
When contacted, the State’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro Industrialisation, Patrick Ubru, said he had been having meetings with Miyetti Allah on how to curb the menace, adding that the Enugu State Government had not rested on the matter.
He stated that attacks by herders was a national issue, stressing that it was heartbroken that after suffering, farmers would lose their rice to herders.
“Government is not resting. We are doing something. Governor Mbah has deployed security agencies everywhere to ensure that the state is secured.”
