Báwo ni ẹ̀yin yóò ṣe dáàbò bo àwọn àwùjọ àgbẹ̀ ní Benue lọ́wọ́ àìlàbòsí?

Q6: Farmers produce food, but bad roads, poor market access and post-harvest losses mean produce either spoils or becomes expensive before reaching consumers. How will you solve this? Answer: My administration will prioritize farm-to-market rural feeder roads under public-private partnerships, establish regional agro-processing zones near farming clusters, and deploy off-grid solar cold-storage facilities to eliminate post-harvest spoilage. Q7: Fertilizer and other farming inputs are too expensive. How will you make farming more affordable and profitable for farmers? Answer: My policy deploys a direct e-wallet input delivery system to provide subsidized fertilizers, high-yield seeds, and pest protection directly to verified smallholders, bypassing middlemen while expanding low-interest agricultural loans via the Bank of Agriculture. Q8: Nigeria has large areas of agricultural land but still imports significant amounts of food. What is your plan for increasing domestic food production and food security? Answer: My strategy expands large-scale irrigation systems (dams and boreholes) for year-round farming, encourages commercial agriculture alongside smallholder development, and deploys Agro-Rangers to secure farmland against attacks.

Q21: Farmers and herders in my community are in conflict over crops, grazing and land. What is your plan for resolving these disputes fairly? Answer: The administration will establish Community Peace and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Committees comprising traditional leaders, farming representatives, and herder associations to resolve land and crop disputes transparently. Q22: Farmers are afraid to go to their farms because of armed attacks and destruction of crops. How will you protect farmers and rural communities? Answer: The policy deploys well-equipped Agro-Rangers and uses aerial drone surveillance along agricultural corridors to detect and neutralize security threats on farmlands. Q23: What is your policy on cattle grazing, grazing routes and livestock management so that herders can raise livestock without destroying farmers' crops? Answer: My plan transitions Nigeria from open grazing to modern livestock management and commercial ranching, offering designated livestock corridors, water points, and veterinary services within commercial feedlots.

Sixth, tackle security headlong. President Tinubu, as a matter of priority, needs to rejig the nation's security architecture as what is currently in place is not serving the needs of the people. The state of pervasive insecurity continues to adversely impact agricultural production and the value it brings to the economy, especially in the Northern parts of the country. Insecurity resulting from terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and cattle rustling has compelled many crop farmers and pastoralists to abandon their lands and relocate to the neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad, and Cameroun. This has drastically caused a reduction in the production of food and skyrocketed prices of foodstuffs. Food scarcity in Nigeria is so dire that a report by Cadre Harmonize warns that between June and August this year, about 31.5 million Nigerians may face severe food shortages and scarcity I have always been a reform advocate. The Nigerian economy certainly requires a large dose of reform measures to accelerate its transformation after many years of lacklustre growth.

I am deeply anguished and shocked by the devastating news of the fresh attacks in Benue State, where over 100 innocent lives are feared lost. This killings, once again targeting defenceless communities, underscores the escalating insecurity crisis facing our nation. Words cannot adequately express the sorrow felt by those left widowed, orphaned, or displaced. My thoughts and prayers are with the families and communities who have suffered unimaginable loss. As a nation, we must pause and reflect on the mounting human toll of this senseless violence. I urge the Federal Government and Benue State authorities to: Launch a prompt, transparent investigation into the attack. The identities of the perpetrators must be swiftly uncovered and justice served. Enhance security presence in the region, deploying necessary resources, personnel, equipment, and intelligence to guarantee the protection of vulnerable rural areas.

Benue is the Food Basket of the Nation. Today, that basket is bleeding. Amnesty International reported that in just the first two years of the Tinubu administration, 6,896 people were killed in Benue State alone. Behind that figure are farmers who never returned from their farms, families driven from their ancestral homes, and communities emptied by fear. And when Benue cannot farm, Nigeria cannot eat cheaply. Every farmer forced off the land eventually shows up in the price of yam, rice, beans, vegetables and meat in the market. Insecurity is not only a security crisis; it is now a cost-of-living tax on every Nigerian family. I speak about this not only as a former Vice President, but as a farmer who has felt the consequences of insecurity. My farms have suffered from theft and disruption. I therefore understand, from personal experience, what insecurity does to production, livelihoods and ultimately the price of food in the market.

● Reduce the incentives for kidnapping by making the system riskier, less profitable, and easier to dismantle ● Disrupt financial flows that enable kidnapping, including ransom payments, laundering channels, and support networks ● Deploy intelligence and financial tracking systems to identify, monitor, and shut down kidnapping operations ● Introduce strict legal and financial consequences for individuals and entities that facilitate or profit from ransom systems 11.Make farming safe again. Recognizing that insecurity on farms directly drives food shortages and rising prices, we will treat farmer security as a core pillar of food policy Details: ● Secure farming communities and agricultural corridors through targeted security deployments ● Establish protected farming zones in high-risk areas to enable safe cultivation and harvest ● Integrate security planning into agricultural policy, linking farm protection to food supply stability ● Support early warning and rapid response systems for rural communities facing threats ● Reduce food inflation by ensuring farmers can produce, harvest, and transport goods without disruption