High cost of cassava is caused by herdsmen attack - Farmers Association

- The president of the Nigeria Cassava Growers Association says herdsmen attacks have led to cassava scarcity and increase in price of the commodity

- Herdsmen attack farmlands, causing farmers to stay away from their farms and not plant

- The price of the limited resources has shot through the roof in the Lagos metropolis

The limited cassava availability and increased cost of cassava products within the country, is caused by the incessant attacks on farmlands by Fulani herdsmen.

This is according to the Nigeria Cassava Growers Association.

The assertion was made in Lagos on Thursday, June 1, by the group’s president, Segun Adewunmi, who spoke on the challenges being faced by cassava farmers, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

Mr. Adewunmi stated that the increased cost of cassava products including garri, fufu and flour, is due to the fact that most farmers have stopped planting because of attacks from herdsmen.

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He said: “It has been a very difficult time for cassava farmers in Nigeria because of the incessant attacks by herdsmen, who make it difficult for them to go to their farms.

“Farmers are afraid to go and cultivate; some farmers have lost their lives for venturing into the farms.

“All that the farmers had were lost to these attackers, and that really affected production of cassava."

He also lamented the lack of compensation by insurance companies to affected farmers whose insurance policies do not cover malicious damage to farms..

“As such, the farmers lost the produce to the attackers without compensation,” he noted.

Adewunmi also lamented the fact that farmlands had been eaten up by animals, thus leading to an inability of the farmers to repay their bank loans.

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The increased demand for cassava and its low supply has thus increased the price of the product.

Depending on the location within the Lagos metropolis, a small paint bucket measure of ‘Garri’, costs between N900 and N1,100.

At the Mushin Oloosa Market, a 60kg bag of the commodity costs between N11,000 and N12, 500, depending on the quality.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the governor of Edo state, Godwin Obaseki has vowed to smoke out killer Fulani herdsmen from the south-south state.

Obaseki made the vow on Wednesday, May 31 as he paid a condolence visit to the families of two women - Christiana Ariu and Martine Emoyon - who were raped and murdered by suspected herdsmen on May 22.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video about killer herdsmen activities in Southern Kaduna

Source: Legit.ng