The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has deployed over 10,000 Agro Rangers across 19 Northern states, including the Federal Capital Territory, to safeguard farmlands and protect farmers from escalating attacks.
The initiative is part of ongoing efforts to enhance food security in the region and other parts of the country.
The NSCDC spokesperson, Babawale Afolabi, disclosed this to our correspondent on Friday, emphasising the corps’ commitment to protecting agro-allied investments and ensuring the safety of farmers and their crops.
The Agro Rangers are also tasked with mediating conflicts between farmers and herders, promoting peaceful coexistence, and preventing the malicious destruction of farmland.
Afolabi noted that the deployment was a collaborative effort between the NSCDC, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, and international organisations, aimed to address the critical issue of food security.
Recall that no fewer than 165 farmers were killed by bandits between January and March this year, underscoring the severity of the security challenges faced by farmers.
It also revealed that farmers in states like Benue, Sokoto, Niger, and Plateau expressed their distress, reporting not only the loss of crops but also the deaths of colleagues due to bandit attacks. Many have been forced to abandon their farms amid the rising violence.
The ongoing food inflation crisis, driven by factors such as the removal of fuel subsidies and rampant insecurity, has led to concerns about the future of food availability in the country.
In response, Afolabi said the Agro Rangers are currently operating in 19 Northern states including Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, Yobe, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa, and Zamfara.
Afolabi said, “We have over 10,000 Agro Rangers deployed in the 19 states in the northern region including FCT to prevent or counter attacks on farmers and their farms.
“In the North and other parts of the country, the Agro Rangers Squad employs different strategies to forestall emerging challenges.
In furtherance, agro-related cases are thoroughly investigated and professionally handled through the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution as a means of settling disputes amicably to ameliorate the pains of the aggrieved parties as the case may be.”
Afolabi reaffirmed the Corps’ condemnation of violent attacks on farmers, calling for tranquillity and peaceful coexistence as essential steps toward improving food security in the region and across Nigeria.
(PUNCH)