Farmers in northern Nigeria have raised concerns over the growing imposition of so-called “bandit levies,” an extortion practice by armed groups which they say could aggravate the country’s looming food crisis amid worsening insecurity.
The practice involves bandits demanding fixed payments from farmers before allowing them access to their farmlands or permitting the harvest of crops, a situation that has continued despite repeated military operations and assurances by the government.
In a chat with the press, the president of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Farouk Mudi, urged the federal government to urgently intervene to stop what he described as an illegal “farming tax” being imposed on farmers in Kano and Katsina States, according to Leadership.
He warned that the development could further deepen food insecurity and unemployment across the country.
The AFAN president condemned the levies, describing them as a major threat to national food production and the survival of rural livelihoods.
Mudi, who spoke through AFAN’s national public relations officer II, Ademola Oyetunji, said farmers in the affected communities were being compelled to either pay the illegal charges or abandon their farms altogether.
He recalled that suspected bandits recently imposed a compulsory levy of N50,000 on more than 1,200 farmers in several communities across Kano and Katsina States.
Describing the situation as a serious national security concern, Mudi said reports from affected areas indicate that bandits are increasingly acting as de facto authorities in rural communities.
“Affected communities say bandits now operate as de facto authorities, issuing deadlines and sending emissaries to collect the money. Many farmers, already struggling with rising costs of farm inputs and poor access to credit, are forced to choose between paying the levy or abandoning their farms altogether,” he said.
Mudi also cautioned that what he termed the inaction or “feigned ignorance” of authorities could undermine public confidence in governance.
“The gradual replacement of democratic authority by criminal elements is weakening public trust in both state and federal governments. By collecting taxes, bandits are entrenching criminal authority and normalising parallel governance structures in rural areas,” he added.
AFAN further described the development as evidence of the failure of relevant authorities to effectively tackle insecurity, noting that the activities of bandits are worsening poverty by cutting off farmers from their primary source of livelihood.
The association warned that unless urgent steps are taken to restore security and dismantle criminal taxation networks, Nigeria could face a further decline in agricultural output, with serious consequences for food supply and prices nationwide.
