EFFECT OF BANDITRY AMONG MAIZE PRODUCERS IN DANDUME LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KATSINA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Banditry remains one of the major forms of insecurity that has created instability and exposed the agricultural sector to numerous threats and challenges, thus hampering socio-economic advancement. This research was conducted to assess the effect of banditry among maize producers in Dandume Local Government Area, Katsina State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 63 respondents across the study area. The data were collected through a structured questionnaire and key informant interviews, and the information collected was analysed using descriptive statistics. The result revealed that the average age of the farmers was 44 years, with a majority (87.3%) being married. The average household size was 17 individuals, while the mean farmland size was 20.22 hectares. Additionally, the farmers possessed an average of 25 years of experience. Furthermore, banditry has significantly hampered farming activities; farmers and their household experienced kidnapping (69.8%); some were forced to relocate, leaving their farms (57.2%); and large hectares of farmland are now inaccessible (57.1%). In addition, the results show that currently, about 39.7% produced an output in the range of 61–90 bags, whereas 28.6% produced a maize output of more than 121 bags with an average of 276 bags, and the average production of maize before the onset of banditry was 504 bags. The findings further revealed that the farmers are now devising community policing as a measure to tackle the banditry (92%). The study concluded that there was a drastic decrease in the volume of maize produced annually, which consequently caused a reduction in the annual income of the respondents. It is therefore recommended that the stakeholders exert greater endeavour in safeguarding this significant agricultural community from the perils of banditry, as the eventual outcomes are anticipated to be profoundly calamitous.