Destruction of farmland in Plateau sparks food security fears

Over four hectares of farmland have been destroyed in Gassa community, Ropp District of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, raising fresh concerns over food security in the state.

The development was disclosed in a statement made available to journalits on Friday in Jos, signed by Rwang Tengwong, national publicity secretary of the Berom Youth Moulder-Association, who alleged that suspected militants carried out the attack.

“The Berom Youth Moulder-Association is saddened and perturbed by the advancement in the strategies of Fulani militancy, which aim not only at ethnic cleansing but also at economic warfare through the use of hazardous herbicides on crops.

“This was carried out on over thirteen maize and hot pepper farms belonging to inhabitants of Gassa community in the midnight of Wednesday”.

According to the statement, the chemicals were applied overnight on dry-season farms covering at least four hectares, destroying crops already under harvest and discouraging farmers from returning to their fields, a situation the group described as a growing threat to local food production.

The association noted that a similar incident occurred last year in villages within Fan District of Barkin Ladi, warning that repeated attacks on farmlands could worsen food shortages and undermine ongoing efforts to strengthen food security.

It called on government and security agencies to urgently investigate the incident, bring perpetrators to justice, and scale up surveillance, particularly through agro-protection units, to safeguard farmers and prevent further destruction of agricultural produce.

Efforts to obtain official confirmation from Alfred Alabo, Police Public Relations Officer of the Plateau State Command, proved abortive as calls to his known phone number did not connect at the time of filing this report.