07/10/2026
My Heart Bleeds for the Nigerian Farmer
As Nigeria celebrates 66 years of independence, there is one issue that continues to weigh heavily on my heart: the insecurity that is preventing millions of Nigerian farmers from safely accessing their farms.
A farmer cannot produce food from his house.
He must go to the farm, cultivate the land, plant, w**d, harvest and transport his produce to the market. But today, in many parts of Nigeria, farmers are afraid to enter their own farmlands because of attacks, kidnapping, banditry, farmer–herder conflicts and other forms of insecurity.
This is not only a security problem. It is a serious food-security problem.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported in September 2026 that conflict is severely disrupting agricultural activities in several major farming states, including Benue, Borno, Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto and Zamfara. Attacks have constrained access to farmland, while cultivation bans and levies have forced some farming households to reduce or suspend agricultural activities.
FAO also estimates that about 36.3 million Nigerians faced severe acute food insecurity during the June–August 2026 lean season, with conflict and economic challenges among the major drivers.
So my question is simple:
How can we talk about food security when the people who produce our food cannot confidently go to their farms and return home safely?
The farmer is not asking for too much.
Farmers are not asking government to do everything for them.
We are asking for something fundamental:
👉 Give us security to go to our farms and return safely.
👉 Protect our farming communities and farmlands.
👉 Give farmers access to basic inputs and affordable support.
👉 Provide the infrastructure that will help us move our produce from farm to market.
👉Let the Nigerian farmer work without living in fear.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's October 1, 2026 Independence Day address did acknowledge insecurity as one of the difficulties Nigeria has faced and spoke extensively about agriculture, including the goal of allowing farmers to cultivate safely and increasing production through irrigation, seeds, fertiliser, mechanisation, storage and transportation. State House Abuja
However, I believe the lived reality of farmers deserves an even stronger and more urgent national conversation about security on the farm.
Because when a farmer abandons his farm out of fear, the consequences do not stop at that farm.
It reaches our markets.
It reaches our homes.
It reaches the price of food.
It reaches our children.
It reaches the entire Nigerian economy.
Millions of Nigerians depend directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihoods. When agricultural production is disrupted, we don't just lose crops, we lose income, employment, food availability and economic opportunities.
This is why I am appealing to our leaders at every level: Federal, State and Local Government.
Please listen to the farmers.
Don't wait until food insecurity becomes an even bigger national crisis before we treat insecurity around our farming communities with the urgency it deserves.
A hungry nation cannot be built on abandoned farmlands.
If Nigeria truly wants food security, then farmer security must be at the heart of food security.
My heart bleeds when I see farmers who have land, knowledge and the willingness to work, but are afraid to cultivate because they are uncertain whether they will return home safely.
Our farmers are ready to feed Nigeria.
All they are asking for is the opportunity to work safely.
May God protect our farmers, our communities and our nation.
May God help Nigeria.
Sir DAD... The farmers voice....
