The House of Representatives has called on the federal government to provide adequate security to farmers to prevent them from Boko Haram, bandits and other criminals during harvest season.
This followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance presented by the member representing the Chibok/Damboa/Gwoza Federal Constituency of Borno State, Ahmed Jaha, at the plenary on Tuesday.
The motion was entitled, “The Need to Stop Killing of Peasant Farmers in Chibok/Damboa/Gwoza Constituency and Provide Safe and Reliable Security for Farmers to Harvest Their Hard-Earned Farm Produce”.
Presenting the motion, Jaha expressed the concern that the persistent insecurity in the Chibok/Damboa/Gwoza Constituency had created an environment of fear and uncertainty, discouraging farmers from cultivating their lands and leaving their hard-earned farm produce unharvested.
According to him, the situation not only leads to financial losses for the farmers but also exacerbates the food insecurity situation in our constituency and the country as a whole.
Jaha while acknowledging the efforts of security agencies in combating insurgency and terrorism in the constituency, said it must be recognized that more needs to be done to provide a safe and reliable security environment for our farmers.
He called on security agencies to intensify intelligence gathering and surveillance activities in the constituency to identify and apprehend the perpetrators of attacks on farmers.
After his lead debate, the member representing Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency of Plateau State, Dachung Musa Bagos, called for an amendment to include all farmers in the country, not only those in Chibok, Damboa and Gwoza.
He advised the federal government to use Agro-Rangers as well as the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel to protect farmers in all vulnerable communities as they harvest their crops.
The House adopted and passed the amended motion to include all farmers in the various parts of the country that are being attacked or prone to attacks.
