500,000 hectares of farmland recovered from bandits in Kaduna — Commissioner

n n

The Kaduna State Government has recovered more than 500,000 hectares of farmland previously controlled by bandits in the state over the past three years.

n

The state Commissioner for Information and Culture, Ahmed Maiyaki, disclosed this on Sunday at a gala night organised by the Kano Correspondents’ Chapel as part of its annual retreat in Kaduna.

n

According to Daily Trust on Monday, Maiyaki attributed the development to improved security measures which, he said, had enabled farmers to return to their farms and resume agricultural activities.

n

He said the government’s approach to tackling insecurity had produced results across several sectors of the state’s economy.

n

According to him, bandits previously exercised control over rural communities, imposing taxes on residents, dictating farming activities and collecting dowries.

n

“It was so bad that farmers could not go to their farms. But today, with community-led security and early warning systems, peace has returned, and our farmers are back on the land,” he said.

n

Maiyaki explained that the government had combined kinetic operations with non-kinetic measures by empowering traditional rulers, religious leaders, youth groups and other stakeholders to participate in efforts to tackle insecurity.

n

He said 75 potential threats were detected between 2023 and early 2026, with 70 successfully addressed, preventing possible communal or religious clashes.

n

The commissioner said the improvement in security had also allowed the government to increase investment in agriculture, with budgetary allocation rising from N1.4bn in 2023 to more than N100bn in 2026.

n

He said the increased funding had supported the free distribution of fertiliser to farmers and contributed to improved yields, with maize production rising from three bags per hectare to as many as 22 bags.

n

Maiyaki said the administration was focused on measuring the impact of its policies rather than the processes involved, adding that the approach was helping to address food insecurity and improve the livelihoods of rural communities.

n

He also highlighted infrastructure projects across 12 local government areas, saying road construction and rehabilitation had reduced travel time, minimised post-harvest losses and improved emergency response.

n

According to him, better road access had made it easier for farmers to transport their produce to markets, enabled children to travel to school and allowed security agencies to respond more quickly to distress calls.

n

On education, Maiyaki said the number of out-of-school children in the state had fallen from 550,000 to 187,000.

n

He added that tuition fees had been reduced by 50 per cent, while scholarships worth N1.3bn had been introduced.

n

In the health sector, the commissioner said maternal deaths had declined by nearly 20 per cent, while 205 primary healthcare centres had been upgraded and 1,800 health workers recruited annually.

n

Maiyaki also said the introduction of free CNG buses had provided transportation for 3.6 million people within one year and saved residents about N3.8bn in transport costs.

n

He said the initiative had also improved the productivity of civil servants by helping them get to work on time while reducing the amount of their income spent on transportation.

n

Maiyaki stressed that the government’s interventions were being assessed based on their impact on residents.

n

“Security is the foundation. Without it, we cannot achieve anything in health, education, or agriculture. Today, Kaduna is setting benchmarks for others to follow,” he said.

n

Earlier, the Chairman of the Kano Correspondents’ Chapel, Murtala Adewale, said the journalists were in Kaduna for their annual retreat, themed, “2027 General Elections: Navigating Legal, Security and Ethical Challenges in the Media.”

n n