Farmers Return To Subsistence Farming To Survive In Niger State

Farmers in Nigeria are returning to Subsistence farming to provide for their households.

They say insecurity has kept them from returning to their farms in the planting season.

Farming definitely is not an easy task , especially bending over to make ridges.

A day with these farmers tells me how difficult it is to produce the food we buy at the local market especially for farmers that do not use mechanised equipment in farming.

It is tough.

With rising costs of food and growing inflation, Nigeria is experiencing its worst food crisis in 40 years.

Although it is the lean season of June to August according to FAO, the prices of food are biting harder than expected.

Medium scale farmers who normally would have so much to spare for sales after harvest are now returning to Subsistence farming getting just enough to feed their families after harvest.

For Umaru Musa the challenge is connected to soil fertility.

Over 70 percent of Nigerians engage in agriculture but mainly at Subsistence farming.

Those who hitherto had no interest in farming now feel a sense of need to farm or contend with the rising cost of food in the market.

Conflicts and worsening insecurity in certain regions of the country, especially in the northeast, northwest and north-central have equally disrupted agricultural activities and displaced farmers.

This has hindered food production and distribution, as many farmers are unable to visit their farmlands for fear of attacks by bandits or herdsmen in the last decade.

They now live in IDP camps.

The 11th edition of the Global Food Security Index GFSI published in 2022, shows that Nigeria ranked 107th ,scoring 42.0 points out of 113th countries globally in the food security index.

Nigeria has 70.8 million hectares of agricultural land area with maize, cassava, guinea corn, yam beans, millet and rice being the major crops.

According to the National Bureau of statistics, for the year ending in April 2024, the average annual rate of food inflation stood at 32.74 percent, representing an increase of 9.52 percentage points over the 23.22 per cent average annual rate recorded in April 2023.

Harsh weather patterns, droughts, and floods have also impacted agricultural productivity and food production only in Nigeria.

Data from Nigeria’s Meteorological Agency NiMet shows that the duration and intensity of rainfall have changed from normal across some states over the years, with devastating impacts on agricultural practices.

In 2022, Nigeria witnessed one of its worst floods in the last decade as hundreds of villages and farmlands were submerged displacing over 2.4 million people.

Addressing food security, requires a concerted effort to tackle these limitations head-on and support for the local food producers.