By Olawale Lamina
The federal government has declared that it is prepared to deploy 10,000 agro rangers across the country, drawn mainly from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps,NSCDC, as a measure to check insecurity across the food producing belt of the country, with a view to boosting food production across the country.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Special Assistant to President Tinubu on New Media, Olusegun Dada, via his official X handle.
The statement stressed that the agro-rangers initiative is a partnership involving the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC).
The federal government noted that the deployment of the agro rangers will help protect farmers against destruction of farmlands as well as curb the farmer-herder conflict.
“As part of ongoing efforts to enhance food security in the Northern region and other parts of the country, the FG through the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) has deployed over 10,000 Agro Rangers across 19 states and the FCT.”
“The Agro Rangers will, among other things; safeguard farmlands and protect farmers from escalating attacks, mediate conflicts between farmers and herders, and prevent malicious destruction of farmlands. While the food inflation crisis in the country is a function of many factors, insecurity has been a long term challenge and this collaboration between the NSCDC and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is expected to solve a major challenge faced by farmers across the country.”
The spate of insecurity, most particularly in the northern region, led to the abandonment of farmlands, resulting in a significant decrease in food production and contributing to the rising food prices nationwide.
Recall that the last week’s attacks on farming communities in Benue State, (the nation’s food basket,) led to the unfortunate death of over 20 persons.
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