“At a point, I felt as if I was at the end of my life; the ordeal is better imagined than experienced,” she said.
CJID
Mike Ede, 56, from Opiruku, Oju Local Government Area of Benue State, North-central Nigeria, couldn’t believe that her ever fertile land that was a source of healthy products could reduce in nutrients as he stood looking at the piece of land. “Only but a glorified farmland,” Ede’s thought betrayed him aloud as he tried hard to swallow the pain. Mr Ede wouldn’t have worried enough if only the trend is just on a piece of land, but across many farmlands in “Orihi” and “Iyato”- the two most fertile areas where foods are grown in the local government, at least that is accessible for him. “There were times all these places were full of trees and covered grasses, you could barely go through them because of the thickness of the grasses,” Mr. Ede explained. He continued, “At that time, a piece of land in this area can give you a double output increase especially if it’s cassava or yam, you could feel the nutrients.” As we speak, it is as dry as anything and the scorching sun around this place wouldn’t even allow you till the land.” Mr. Ede is an established farmer in the Opiruku community whose annual income used […]
