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Farmers in Kwara State’s southern senatorial district are increasingly threatened by insecurity, as armed groups and herders disrupt agricultural activities across seven local government areas.
Communities face dual threats: criminal gangs conducting roadside ambushes and kidnappings for ransom, and armed herders who graze cattle on farmlands, often attacking farmers who resist.
The region is a key agricultural hub, producing staple crops such as maize, rice, sorghum, millet, yam, and cassava, alongside cash crops including cotton, cocoa, and oil palm. While subsistence farming remains dominant, several large-scale commercial farms have also been established by local entrepreneurs.
The escalating insecurity has severely impacted food production and rural livelihoods, with crop farmers particularly affected. Following the April kidnapping of Oke Ero local council officials, the Kwara State House of Assembly passed a motion urging Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to overhaul the state’s security strategy.
In response, the state recently established a Ministry of Livestock Development, aligning with a similar federal initiative. According to Muhammad Umar, Director of Livestock Services, the government plans to confine herders to 17 designated grazing zones to reduce farm invasions and related violence.
The situation highlights the broader challenge of balancing food security, rural safety, and pastoralist needs in Nigeria’s evolving security landscape.
Nigeria Map on Wikimedia by Burmesedays
