Over N17 million worth of rice farmland has been destroyed by grazing activities of cattle in Oji-Agu axis in Akpugo community in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Briefing newsmen on the massive destruction of the rice farmland in Enugu on Wednesday, Mr Ekene Uzodinma, the Manager of Excellent Integrated Farms Ltd., said that herds of cattle had eaten up over eight hectares of farmland that the company cultivated.
Uzodinma lamented that the herds also devoured some heaps of unprocessed paddy rice kept in the farmland, which was waiting to be sent to the milling machine.
“From the market value of local rice now, the eight hectares should produce at least 80 tonnes of rice as a finished product and it is nothing less than N17 million in evaluation,’’ he said.
“Initially, we tried our best to wade them off, especially during the rainy season and the swampy nature of the rice farm also kept the herdsmen and their herds away.
“However, when we started harvesting and the dry season rolled in; in early December, we were constantly chasing them away until Dec. 15; when they started coming into the rice farmland during the late evening and night hours.
“On that fateful, I was summoned to the farm by my workers at about 7 p.m., when they were overwhelmed in chasing hundreds of cattle away and before the next morning they had eaten up and totally devoured and devastated the whole rice farm,’’ he said.
“It is only the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps that came to the scene of the devastating and anger-provoking farm to ask some questions, took some notes and pictures,’’ he said.
He, however, said that he was exploiting diplomatic means to seek redress and get the authorities to intervene, especially as the company planned to cultivate 200 hectares of farmland in the state this year by involving no fewer than 100 youths in agriculture.
