Farmers blame high cost of foodstuffs on invasion of Fulani herdsmen

Farmers in Ogoja local government area of Cross River state have attributed the high cost of major foodstuffs to the invasion of farm lands by Fulani herdsmen. For instance, a cup of garri, a stable foodstuff in the state, costs N100 as against N5.

Also on the high side are the prices of yam, okro, rice, oil, vegetables, fruits, grains, cocoa, cassava, coconut and others. The prices had gone up to over 200 percent. Farmers in Ishibori community lamented the high cost of this food stuff and blamed it on invasion and destruction of farms in the area.

Madam Okonko Ekpai said that the main problem was the invasion of the Fulani herdsmen from the north. “As a woman, you can no longer go to the farm alone, owing to the fact that this deadly men with their barbaric act will either rape you, collect your belongings or kill you if you try to resist.

“We cannot believe it, for these same herdsmen were like guardian angels in our farms until 2015. Before now, when you go to the farm alone, you’re sure of a company from the Fulani men. Most times, they’ll bring us their Nunu or Fura in exchange for yams or cassava, but today we are being secluded from our own farms.

“If you go to the farms today, the cassava we planted are now lying short, begging to grow as the cattle herdsmen have now taken over. Each leaves that try to plunge out, they’ll go with their cattle to lick them up. You cannot have a say, even our husbands cannot chase them for they harbour sophisticated weapons and charms. Their heart is behind their back, they kill without fear as if there’s no law.”

She called on the government to intervene or else the next season will be worst, saying: “We are peaceful people, we don’t like shedding blood. We don’t want what is happening in Benue, Enugu and other areas to happen to us. We beg Governor Ben Ayade to come to our rescue. Farming is what we depend upon to train our children in schools.”

Meanwhile, another large scale farmer, Mr. Peter Agboje who said he had never been engaged in any other profession but farming through which he has been able to get his children a formal education, lamented the menance of the herdsmen. He said they even threatened to invade their traditional occasions as they did last year September, during the celebration of the Ogoja/Bakor New Yam Festival.

He urged the government and other concerned parties including the police and the military to look into the situations so that they can live their normal lives again. “Our wives can no longer go to the farm alone, including our children because they’re afraid of being molested, raped by these miscreants. Our farmlands are fading away and becoming difficult to till due to the hardened nature caused by the hoofs of their cows.”

“Some of our farms across the shores of the rivers and those with long distances have been abandoned. Even we the men are afraid of them; because they carry sophisticated weapons and are capable of killing at anytime without conscience. If the government and the security personnel don’t look into the matter, they’ll engulf us and take our lands. They might even enslave us in the nearest future,” Mr. Agboje said.