Business
Food inflation: FG’s N827bn agric vote threatened

…as bandits intensify attacks on farmers
Hope from the government promised to bring down Nigeria’s food inflation rate of 40 percent may be dashed, and the N827 billion allocation to agriculture in the 2025 budget, which signifies a transformative approach to revitalizing the sector – bolstering food security and generating mass employment – is in danger, as bandits intensify attacks in the northern part of the country. The allocation shows over 100 percent increase from N362.94 billion in 2024 and N228.4 billion in 2023. Capital allocations also rose by 130% compared to last year.
In the N47.965trn 2025 expenditure framework tagged, “Budget of Restoration: Securing Peace, Rebuilding Prosperity,” President Tinubu had said a key element to drive the projected positive economic outlook would be bumper harvests, driven by enhanced security, and reduction in reliance on food imports.
Now the optimism is under intense pressure from different quarters.
Only last week the National Assembly Joint Committee on Agricultural Production and Services issued a strong warning that agencies under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security risked receiving zero budget allocations for 2025 if their chief executive officers (CEOs) failed to appear in person to defend their budget estimates.
Renewed bandits attacks continue to disrupt farming in northern Nigeria.
Sources told Business Hallmark that people have refused to go to their farms and abandoned farmlands in the face of escalating violence, extortion, and constant threats from various criminal groups.
It was learnt that the unrelenting attacks on rural communities, and the climate of fear from the attacks, which has forced farmers to abandon their livelihoods.
The disruption has compounded the tenuously fragile and precarious food security situation, which experts say is capable of sabotaging President Tinubu’s efforts to stabilize food prices and achieve greater self-sufficiency in food production. Experts say that the rampaging inflation rate of 34.8 percent is being driven by rising food prices, which have left most Nigerians unable to cope with decent lifestyle.
Professor Oluwayomi Atteh, eminent scholar and agriculturist at the University of Ilorin, told Business Hallmark that “We should commend the President (Tinubu) for his focus on agriculture, his drive to eliminate food insecurity, but to achieve this good program, the security situation in farming communities in the northern part of the country must improve”.
Recall that in his New Year address, the President resolved to carry out reforms aimed at boosting domestic food production and supporting the local manufacturing of essential goods, including drugs and medical supplies.
Key areas of funding within the proposed budget include N127bn for agricultural equipment, another N127bn for the Renewed Hope Fertilizer Support Programme, and N132bn earmarked for the National Agricultural Development Fund.
However, the fund is projected to operate at a N132bn deficit, necessitating external financing.
Despite these budgetary provisions, the worsening security situation in the north – a critical agricultural region — remains a major obstacle to the government’s food security aspirations.
It was bad news two weeks ago when report emerged that a notorious bandit leader, Dantsito, had imposed a N172m levy on some communities in the Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The bandit vowed to unleash violence if his demands—payable in either cash or foodstuffs — were not met.
In order to escape attack, residents of the Tsafe West District of the council have been reportedly fleeing and abandoning their homes and farms for the past two weeks, as they doubt their ability to meet Dantsito’s demand.
In Niger State, the story was the same as the state government three weeks ago actually issued advisory to farmers not to return to their fields, citing the growing threat of Improvised Explosive Devices planted by bandits.
The state Commissioner for Homeland Security, Bello Abdullahi, gave the warning during the 2024 Base Socio-Cultural Activities at the Nigerian Air Force’s 013 Quick Response Force in Minna.
“We are warning our farmers to be careful about going to their farms for now. Bandits have hidden IEDs in the ground to cause disaster. The military must first clear the suspected mine-laden areas before local movement can resume safely,” Abdullahi said.
Insecurity has become a worrisome spectacle that farmers across several states have abandoned farming activities, igniting fears of looming food scarcity.
In Plateau State, there were reports that bandits have devastated agricultural communities with entire farmlands destroyed by criminal groups, where they created camps to unleash terror.
The Public Relations Officer of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria in Plateau, Wukaska Gowon, noted that over 100 farmers in Kwall alone suffered significant losses when bandits destroyed their Irish potato farms in 2024.
A wheat farm spanning 150 hectares in Bokkos was also destroyed, and in Bassa LGA, the same fate befell the farms. Farmers in the regions have expressed concern about the long-term impact of banditry on the state’s agricultural economy.
“The consequences are far-reaching, affecting not only the farmers but also food security and the economic stability of the state,” said Tobias Dung, a farmer from Barkin Ladi.
The north central state of Kwara is not immune from this threat to food security. Frequent clashes between farmers and herdsmen have been reported leading to the mass abandonment of farms.
A farmer from Alakuko village in the Asa LGA, Sunday Olabiyi, said he lost over N7m worth of crops to herdsmen grazing on his farm. The farmer regretted that he could not tackle the herders, as one of his neighbours was killed for attempting to do so.
Meanwhile, the Kwara State government has responded by setting up a committee to mediate in the conflict between farmers and herders.
The state Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Oloruntoyosi Thomas, said the frequency of the clashes had significantly reduced due to the intervention of the committee.
The story of Katsina is even worse. Bandits have reportedly displaced farmers from several council areas, including Batsari, Jibia, and Faskari.
Many farmers, fearing for their lives, have abandoned their crops.
A beans farmer from Batsari, Abdullah Musa, said that his beans were ready for harvest but could not be accessed due to bandit activities. “I cannot go and harvest them. Last week, I was told that the bandits themselves have stated harvesting them”, he said.
Another farmer, Ahmed El Yakub, still remembered when he was attacked by bandits, adding that farmers now paid fees to access their land.
Sokoto State is equally experiencing banditry, particularly in the eastern senatorial zone, where farmers can no longer reach their farmlands due to escalating insecurity.
A farmer from the Gandi community in Rabbah LGA, Aminu Rabah, said farming had been severely impacted by the ongoing violence, with kidnappings and attacks becoming a regular occurrence.
“These are trying times; we can hardly go three days without hearing news of an attack or kidnapping in our communities. Insecurity has crippled farming activities and directly contributed to the rising cost of foodstuffs,” Abdullahi Goronyo, a farmer from Goronyo LGA, lamented.
Insecurity in Benue State has become legendary , and has mainly been ascribed to the persistent attacks by herders and bandits, particularly in the Sankera axis.
The area, consisting of Logo, Ukum, and Katsina Ala LGAs, has long been known for its thriving yam farming.
However, a significant decline in production was noted as herders and bandits began terrorizing local farmers.
Sankera, once producing approximately 100 truckloads of yams daily, now faces a bleak future.
Nyiekaa Amua, the state chairman of the Yam Farmers Association of Nigeria, confirmed that many farmers have abandoned their fields for fear of attacks.
“Many could not farm last year due to insecurity in Sankera, particularly in Ukum LGA, where we had the highest population of yam farmers. Though, with state government intervention, there is hope that many people will return to farming this year,” Amua stated.
The state chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Sam Yuwa, echoed similar concerns, revealing that insecurity from herders’ attacks had prevented many rice farmers from planting last year.
He expressed optimism that security improvements would encourage farmers to return to the fields in the coming planting season.
In Zamfara State, disruption in farming activities has been very acute, according to reports due to rising incidents of kidnapping, killings, and extortion.
Findings showed that over 80 percent of farmlands have not been cultivated for years as bandits intensify operations across all the 14 LGAs in the state.
A farmer, Sani Yari, who was virtually compelled to relocate to Gusau after repeated kidnappings, shared his harrowing experience.
“I had no choice but to relocate to Gusau because the bandits were always looking for people to kidnap and demand ransom. I was kidnapped twice, but I escaped both times. On my third kidnapping, I had to pay N1m to regain my freedom. Immediately after that, I left the village and moved to Gusau town,” he recounted.
Another farmer, Ibrahim Kazauda, confirmed that many people in his community had abandoned farming due to constant attacks.
He said, “Many of us are no longer farming as the bandits continue to kidnap and kill those who dare to go to their farms.”
Worried by the escalation of attacks, the All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria has implored President Tinubu to give more attention to tackling insecurity to achieve his food production goals.
The National President of AFAN, Kabir Ibrahim, praised the President’s resolve to improve food production but emphasized that addressing insecurity and economic instability was key to success.
Ibrahim noted that smallholder farmers, who made up the majority of Nigeria’s agricultural workforce, needed support through incentives, access to credit, and protection from insecurity.