By Danjuma Attah, Gombe
Peasant farmers in Gombe State have expressed worry and fear that the much anticipated food security for Nigerians may remain a mirage after all.
This followed a poor handling of both the Gombe State Government’s subsidized fertiliser and the Federal Government’s free fertiliser distribution.
Many farmers interviewed from seven out of the eleven Local Government Areas of the State, decried high cost of the State Government’s fertiliser while the expected free fertiliser meant for peasant farmers, courtesy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was near absent even when Governor Inuwa Yahaya confirmed receipt of same.
“If the fertilisers from the Federal Government can be distributed to farmers in Kano and Nasarawa States at no cost, why will Gombe State be different?” One of the farmers, Mrs Sarah Yakubu, questioned.
They appealed to the State Government to distribute the free fertilisers provided by the Federal Government to farmers across the state to enable those going into dry season farming carry out their activities.
Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya had on June 20, announced that the Federal Government had donated 2, 000 tonnes of fertilisers to be distributed free to farmers in the State during the launching of the sales and distribution of subsidised fertiliser to farmers for the 2024 wet season farming.
The Governor who commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for the gesture is now faced with allegations from farmers that the free fertiliser from the FG didn’t get to them as proclaimed.
Most of the peasant farmers interviewed by our correspondent lamented over their inability to access the fertilisers for their use during the wet season. They alleged that the commodity was not distributed.
They expressed their frustration over extreme cost of living which has affected the price of the fertiliser saying it is likely going to worsen the food availability as stated by a farmer in Billiri LGA, Mr Ayuba Ali.
According to him, farmers in his community and neighbouring villages did not benefit from the free fertilisers from President Tinubu.
He said the fertilisers would have empowered peasant farmers to boost food production, increase farmers’ income as well as the livelihoods of rural dwellers if they were distributed.
Sharing his own experience, Malam Umar Hamisu, a sorghum and wheat farmer in Nafada LGA, said the 2024 cropping season was the worst for him as he was unable to buy inputs to carry out farming activities.
He attributed the high cost of fertilisers and other agrochemicals and the lack of support from the Government as reasons for inability to go to farm adding,
“We heard that President Tinubu supported farmers in the State with fertilisers, but we didn’t see anything in our villages”.
From Dadin Kowa in Yamaltu-Deba LGA, Mrs Esther Bitrus, a rice and maize farmer said only subsidised fertilisers from the State Government was “minimally” sold at N25,000 instead of N22,000 as announced by Governor Inuwa. She alleged that it was politically distributed.
She said, “I bought my fertilisers because I didn’t enjoy that of the Federal and the State Governments, so I just made do with the one I could afford.
“But it is not fair that the Federal Government will bring fertilisers for farmers and we don’t enjoy the gesture, especially now that farming has become too expensive for peasants like us,” she lamented.
Speaking in the same vein, a multi-grain farmer, Aliyu Kashere, said it was particularly painful that farmers who produce food for Gombe and Nigeria were not supported in the state like their colleagues in other places urging the State Government to ensure the distribution of the fertilisers to support farmers during the dry season farming.
A retired teacher, Mrs Rita Paul, aged 65 from Lapan in Shongom LGA who is now into farming also said that she was yet to benefit from Tinubu’s fertilisers. She said, with the rising cost of inputs and impact of climate change, farmers ought to be supported to mitigate the high cost of farming and boost food security.
While commending the State Government for subsidising fertilisers by 50 per cent, she stated however that she only got one bag for N25, 000 adding that, ”For the other fertilisers from Mr President, we didn’t get that and no farmer here got it because we all visited and interacted among ourselves”.
For Mrs Sarah Yakubu, a smallholder women farmer, the increasing neglect of farmers in the state would result in food crises and deepen poverty in rural communities.
But responding, the Gombe State Government denied allegations of not distributing the fertilisers from the Federal Government for the farmers in the State.
Dr Barnabas Malle, the State’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperatives, stated while addressing journalists in Gombe over the allegation that the 2, 000 metric tonnes from the Federal Government were given to farmers through Cooperatives while that of the State Government was subsidised by 50 per cent and sold to farmers.
“Those who wanted to buy and resell for higher prices didn’t get the opportunity because they were denied by the strong mechanism put in place by Governor Inuwa Yahaya. That is why they are making these noise,” he said.
Dr Malle who gave assurance that the Tinubu fertiliser were freely distributed, stated further that farmers were excited over how the fertilisers were distributed this year and revealed plans to also support dry season farmers to complement the harvest from the wet season farming.
