As the new wet season cultivation begins across Nigeria, a looming food security crisis is unfolding in the North. Armed bandits have established parallel governance systems across major forest reserves, imposing multi-million naira “farming taxes” on communities and threatening to completely choke off national food production.

The annual planting period—traditionally a time of hope—has transformed into a cycle of fear and extortion for farming communities across Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Yobe states.

THENEWSCREDIT reports that In Malumfashi Local Government Area of Katsina State, bandits recently slammed the Kwandawa community with a staggering ₦20 million levy. Residents were handed a brutal ultimatum: pay the fine—allegedly retaliatory punishment for the killing of a bandit member—or permanently vacate their ancestral homes and farmlands.

A similar crisis is paralyzing Sabon Birni Local Government Area in Sokoto State. Residents across 26 vulnerable communities have been forced to pool resources to meet fresh financial demands from criminal groups. The armed gangs issued a strict three-day ultimatum, blocking farmers from accessing their fields until the funds are delivered.

Further south, extortion networks have spread into the agricultural border zones of Kano and Katsina states. Sugarcane growers report being forced to pay up to ₦50,000 per acre to criminal elements before they are permitted to harvest their crops.

The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has sounded a severe warning over the micro-taxation of agriculture, noting that the targeted smallholders form the bedrock of the country`s nutritional survival.

“These small-scale farmers producing 10 to 15 bags are the ones providing food for Nigeria, not those who produce 500 to 1,000 bags,” said Alhaji Abdullahi Ali Mai Biredi, Chairman of the AFAN Kano State chapter.

Mai Biredi warned that blocking agrarian communities from their land will trigger a dangerous domino effect. “If these farmers cannot go to their farms because of insecurity, there will be a shortage of food, and food scarcity causes problems. Shortages of food also cause further insecurity.”

Despite the widespread extortion, AFAN acknowledged recent tactical gains by state actors. Mai Biredi commended the Federal Government and security agencies for deploying personnel to liberate several previously inaccessible agricultural hubs.

Land preparation and cultivation have successfully resumed along the critical border corridors linking Kano and Katsina states due to targeted security presence.

The AFAN chief urged the government to complement military action with non-kinetic strategies. “If they have a problem, the government should ensure it looks into their complaints because insecurity has caused huge damage in Nigeria,” he stated.

Efforts to get official reactions from the Katsina State Ministries of Agriculture, Information, and Internal Security were unsuccessful at the time of going to press.