Activities of bandits and cattle rustlers in Katsina state have forced agricultural production to a 30% decrease this farming season, officials have said.

The state Commissioner of Agriculture, who is also the state Deputy Governor, Mr Mannir Yakubu, made the disclosure during a ministerial briefing held at Katsina government house on Friday.

Represented by Special Assistant to the governor on Agriculture, Mr Abba Abdullahi, the commissioner said about 500 farms were abandoned by the farmers as a result of criminal activities taking place in their areas.

“Those 500 farms amounted to about 58,000 hectares of land and that has decreased our annual production of crops to 30 per cent in Katsina state,” he said.

He added that though  Covid-19 pandemic did not significantly affect farming activities in the state, it however had its negative impact on fertilizer procurement and distribution, which affected not only Katsina, but other states as well.

“We normally procure 30,000 metric tons of fertilizer annually, but this year we were promised 10,000 metric tons and we ended up getting only 3,000 out of it. We are planning to add that up with the remnant of 1,000 metric tons from the previous year and distribute it to our irrigation farmers, he said.

The commissioner added that for the first time the state would embark on cotton production through irrigation farming this year, adding that wheat and maize will also be part of this year’s “revolutionary” irrigation farming.

Daily Trust