Insecurity is emerging as a major operational risk to Kaduna State’s efforts to expand agricultural production and attract agro-industrial investment, after at least nine farmers were killed and several others abducted in an attack on farmland in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area.
The July 4 attack occurred around Kakangi as farmers worked on their fields during the wet-season farming period. Security information cited in reports on the incident recorded at least nine deaths, while several people were also reported abducted.
The incident came as the Kaduna government intensified agricultural support, with Governor Uba Sani flagging off the distribution of 500 truckloads of free fertiliser to 150,000 smallholder farmers across the state’s 23 local government areas, alongside mechanisation support.
The intervention followed the distribution of 400 truckloads of fertiliser to 100,000 farmers in 2025, while the state government said more than 500 truckloads were distributed in 2024.
The scale of the intervention highlights the importance of agriculture to Kaduna’s economic strategy, but also exposes a central challenge: lowering farmers’ input costs will have limited effect if insecurity prevents them from consistently accessing their fields, completing production cycles and moving harvests to markets.
Agricultural production requires continuity. Farmers need access to their fields not only for planting but also for weeding, applying fertiliser and other inputs, monitoring crops and harvesting.
The Kakangi attack demonstrates…
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Read Full Article by Wasiu Alli at businessday.ng
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