500,000 farmers displaced within two years, says don

Nigeria’s Agricultural sector has vast opportunities but it is limited by sundry issues of which the latest and most urgent are rising insecurity in the farmlands across the country and climate change.

This was the submission of Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, at the 27th annual convention and the 26th annual lecture series of the Alumni Association of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, (FUNAAB), Ogun State, on Saturday.

Hashim noted that the data from the National Bureau of Statistics, (NBS) showed that about 500,000 farmers were displaced between 2022 and 2024, leading to a loss of over N2 trillion.

Also, in the Middle Belt, a drop of over 70 per cent in farming activities was recorded, leading to “shortages of maize crops, yam, and others.According to him, the Institute of Peace Study revealed that in 2024, over 3,500 cases of kidnapping occurred in Nigeria.

He said: “Apart from the above urgent issues, there are other issues that have fairly been around for a while undermining agricultural productivity and prosperity in the sector. They include the following: “Poor infrastructure and market access and poor road networks that hinder timely delivery of farm produce to the markets. The African Development Bank (AfDB) noted that post-harvest losses in Nigeria exceed $9 billion yearly, primarily due to inadequate transportation and storage.”

On the role of Alumni contributions to development, Hashim emphasised: “Alumni associations all over the world serve the same or similar purpose. This, he said, includes: “Providing a platform for networking and supporting the alumni to stay connected and maintain relationship with the alma mater. He, however, argued that only a minority target agriculture despite its critical economic role.