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The Kaduna State Government says more than 500,000 hectares of farmland previously abandoned or inaccessible because of banditry and insecurity have been reclaimed, allowing thousands of farmers to return to agricultural production.
Kaduna Commissioner for Information and Culture, Ahmed Maiyaki, disclosed this during the annual retreat of the Kano Correspondents’ Chapel in Kaduna, attributing the improvement to security measures implemented over the past three years.
According to Maiyaki, the government adopted a combination of military operations, community-based security initiatives, early-warning mechanisms and engagement with traditional and religious leaders to tackle insecurity.
He said armed groups had previously taken control of some communities, restricted access to farmland and imposed levies on residents. In some affected areas, according to the commissioner, criminals dictated when people could farm and demanded payments for certain community activities.
The government says improved security has enabled displaced residents to return to their communities and farmers to resume cultivation on land that had been abandoned.
The claim of more than 500,000 hectares being recovered is not entirely new. Governor Uba Sani has previously cited the reopening of farmland, schools and healthcare facilities as evidence that security conditions have improved in parts of Kaduna. Independent reporting has also documented farmers returning to some previously inaccessible areas, although residents have said isolated attacks and fears remain in certain communities.
Maiyaki said Kaduna’s strategy combines kinetic and non-kinetic approaches, arguing that military action alone cannot resolve the underlying causes of insecurity.
Under what the administration calls the Kaduna Peace Model, government officials say traditional rulers, religious leaders, communities and security agencies have worked together on dialogue, reconciliation, intelligence gathering and conflict prevention.
The commissioner said the state’s early-warning architecture identified 75 potential security threats between 2023 and early 2026, with 70 reportedly addressed before they developed into violent confrontations.
The security gains are also being linked to a major expansion of agricultural spending.
According to Maiyaki, Kaduna’s agriculture budget increased from about ₦1.4 billion in 2023 to more than ₦100 billion in 2026. The government says farmers have also received fertiliser and other agricultural support.
The implications extend beyond Kaduna.
Insecurity has been one of the biggest threats to agricultural production across parts of northern Nigeria. When farmers abandon productive land because of kidnapping, banditry or killings, the consequences can eventually appear in markets through reduced food supply, higher transportation costs and increased food prices.
If the claimed 500,000 hectares remain secure and are returned to sustained commercial production, the development could therefore contribute not only to rural livelihoods but also to the wider battle against food insecurity and food inflation.
However, the government’s figures remain principally official claims, and the bigger test will be whether farmers can continue cultivating those areas safely across successive planting and harvesting seasons.
Kaduna’s experience therefore raises an important national question: If security can return 500,000 hectares of abandoned farmland to production in one state, how much of Nigeria’s food crisis could be addressed by making farms safe again across the country’s major agricultural belts?
