- ’Over N20m worth of produce stolen ‘
Farm produce worth over N20 million have been stolen by invaders and thieves at Iwaji Ekiti in Efon Local Government of Ekiti State, concerned agric-businessmen have said.
The farmers, who have acquired over 300 acres in Efon Alaaye and its environs, raised the alarm over incessant invasion of their warehouse/stores and theft of farm produce at Iwaji Ekiti along Efon Alaaye-Ipole Ekiti Road.
They urged Governor Biodun Oyebanji to save them from the persistent theft of crops, particularly tons of dried maize, at broad daylight and at night.
The farmers complained that agricultural yields are not safe on farmlands and in warehouses/stores because of the threats to security by the invaders.
They said the tactics of the thieves was to bring motorcycles and vehicles to the farms where they carted away farm produce, driving through Efon Alaaye-Ijebu Jesa to Ilesa and Ipole Iloro-Ikogosi-Erinjiyan-Ilawe Road, to Ado-Ekiti, where they found market for the stolen items.
According to the farmers, ‘’these suspected invaders and thieves are part of an ethnic group, ‘Igede,’ migrants from Benue State, who are said to be scattered in Ekiti towns and villages in search of labourers’ and other menial jobs.’’
The farm owners refrained from tribal labelling, clarifying that “while some ‘Igede’ pursue honest farm work and live decently in their host communities, some bad eggs among members of the ethnic group are engaged in the nefarious activities.”
In the last five years, some young professionals, including Fellows of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), bankers, engineers, dons and young retirees from diverse fields have returned home to farm.
These agric-businessmen are cultivating on vast hectares in Efon Alaaye Local Government. They store their produce in warehouses at Iwaji, along Ipole-Iloro Road.
Apart from contributing to efforts aimed at fostering food security in Ekiti, their activities, which have created job opportunities, also have the potential to boost the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) drive.
The large scale farming often yields bountiful harvest of food crops, including yams, cocoyams, cassava and tons of maize, which are stolen by the miscreants.
Read Also: ‘Establish conflict management for farmers, herders’
One of the farmers, Prince Ganiyu Jimoh, a building engineer, complained that crop theft by the unscrupulous elements have resulted in income loss.
He told reporters in Ado-Ekiti that ‘Professionals in Farming,’ are discouraged to embark on farm expansion because the large farmlands fall prey to marauders.
Jimoh said: “We have invested our hard-earned income in farming, which is not an easy occupation. We tilled the ground, hired labourers, and labour is not free. We fought animals through various trips. We nurtured the farm. At the point of harvesting and storing up, thieves came.
“We urge the government to come to our aid. We don’t want to work for a whole year in vain. We appeal to security agents to track the thieves and invaders so that the culprits can be brought to book.”