Many communities in Lafiagi ward III in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State are noted for massive cassava production. They include Zambufu, Gale, Masha, Guye, Gbugbu and many others.
Farmers in these communities have no other major crop than cassava, which they have been farming for decades.
The dusty road from Zambufu, the headquarters of the ward, to Gbale community, was filled with potholes, with some places almost cut off by erosion, a confirmation of the difficulties the farmers later shared.
An elder in the community, Mallam Ibrahim Gbale, who has been farming cassava for over 40 years, said the land was becoming infertile because of the continued pressure on it.
“We have been farming on these lands since I was born, so you should know what that means to the soil. It has depreciated and is no longer fertile. Now, we have to use fertiliser before the cassava can do well. And look at the price of fertiliser now,” he said in Nupe language.
He also complained of incessant attacks on farmers by herders, a situation he said was heightening tension in the community.
“You know cassava is a tuber crop which takes at least one and half years to mature. Unfortunately, in the dry season herders usually invade the farms with their animals and destroy the crops. It is a serious threat,” he added.
Mallam Gbale said that in his community and some other neighbouring ones, nearly 1,000 farmers engage in cassava farming, producing large tons on a yearly basis.
He, however, said they had not received any intervention from government, adding that the community had been abandoned for a long time.
“As you could see when you were coming, the roads are in a terrible condition. Moving the cassava from the community to the nearest market has been the major problem. Commercial vehicles have little interest in coming to the communities because of the bad nature of the roads. And this has made it very difficult to move our produce to markets in Tsaragi and Gbugbu,’’ he further said.
Dauda Mohammed, another farmer in the community, also said the depreciating situation of their farmlands and the conflict between farmers and herders were the major problems.
He said, “Our farmlands are losing fertility. We can no longer plant cassava without applying fertilizers. It was not so in the past. Here in Kwara we don’t have assistance from the government, in terms of input. And you know what that means – additional cost of production.’’
He added that all efforts to address the crisis between farmers and herders in the community had not yielded the desired results.
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