Plateau Official Laments Persistent Attacks On Farming Communities

The Plateau State Coordinator Supply Chain Research and Innovation Hub (SCRIH) and Nigeria Food Security Project (NFSP) Mr Samson Iornongu, has stated that the demands for food security is very urgent, especially as agricultural production is increasingly under threat due to insecurity and attacks on farming communities.

Iornongu stated this at the commencement of the pilot phase of an inclusive food security planning initiative in Plateau State, with support from the United Kingdom International Development–funded Strategic Planning for Resilience in Nigeria (SPRiNG) Project.

LEADERSHIP reports that, the initiative, titled “Enhancing Food Security and Peacebuilding in Nigeria through Strategic Planning,” is being implemented in partnership with the Plateau State Government, and designed to address the interconnected challenges of food insecurity, climate change and conflict, particularly in communities whose livelihoods have been disrupted by conflict.

The project adopts a development-focused approach that integrates agricultural resilience with peacebuilding strategies.

At the core of the SPRiNG Project is inclusive planning that prioritises women, youths and persons with disabilities, acknowledging their vital roles in food systems and community stability, and the pilot phase is being implemented in the Shendam, Mangu and Pankshin local government areas (LGAs) of Plateau State.

According to the state coordinator food is everybody’s business adding that because it concerns everyone, food security becomes critically important.

He lamented the sustained attacks on farming communities which have significantly undermined agricultural productivity across the state.

The state coordinator further maintained that inclusive stakeholder participation was essential to strengthening existing policies and extending interventions to underserved areas.

According to him, the three selected LGAs would serve as testing grounds for a scalable model capable of evolving into a state-wide and national action plan.

He argued that extensive consultations had already been held with the Plateau State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, relevant state institutions, academia, traditional leaders and community stakeholders.

Also speaking, the Deputy Director of Agricultural Services at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Plateau State Office, Hannatu Ishaku, described food security as a critical response to prevailing security challenges.

She emphasised the need to protect farming communities, noting that they remain central to sustaining food production and rural livelihoods.

In the same vein, the national coordinator of the project, Dr Shalem Shiekuma, said the initiative was designed to support communities, and explained that the pilot phase, which commenced in November, 2025 will run for five months and is intended to test approaches that can be scaled up by the state government.

According to him, the project applies a holistic framework that combines policy support, community-level interventions and data-driven analysis to address the root causes of food insecurity and conflict.