Cotton Farmers Migrate To Other Crops

Cotton farmers in Biu, Borno State, have attributed the decline in cotton cultivation to low patronage and poor pricing, forcing them to migrate to other crops.

It would be recalled that during the colonial and post independence era, Biu was the hub of cotton production in the country.

A farmer, Malam Ibrahim Modu, stated in Biu on Monday that cotton production was “a very good business” from the 1960s to 1980s before its production declined due to “change in government policy.”

He said he learnt how to cultivate cotton from his late father at an early age.

“I started cultivating cotton when I was barely 15-years-old, because my late father was a big producer of the crop.

“When I grew up, I also went into cotton production. In fact, I married my first wife, Asabe, with the money from the sale of cotton.

“In those days, the cotton board was responsible for buying all the cotton produced by farmers.

“As soon as it was harvest time, officials of the board moved round to buy cotton from farmers right in the farm,” Modu recalled.

According to him, the abolition of the cotton board left farmers at the mercy of cotton merchants, whom he said, bought the commodity at rock bottom price from farmers.

Another cotton farmer in the area, Mallam Ishaka Usman, corroborated Modu’s claim, saying that cotton merchants discouraged farmers from producing the crop with their style of business.

“All what they wanted was to maximise their profit to the detriment of the farmers.

“I stopped cotton production in the last eight years because it was no longer profitable,” Usman said.

Malam Umaru Waju, who also cultivates the crop, however, said that the situation had improved lately as buyers now offered reasonable price for cotton.

“The situation has improved, but farmers are still finding it difficult to make a break through in cotton production.

“I spent about N1,500 to cultivate cotton last year, but made a meagre profit of N200 at the end,” he said.

Waju explained that the situation had compelled several cotton farmers to revert to the production of other crops they considered more viable to cotton.

The Chairman, Biu Local Government Council Caretaker Committee, Alhaji Yusuf Adamu, admitted that the area had in the past been the nerve centre of cotton production in the country.

He also corroborated the views of cotton farmers that poor patronage had led to the decline of the crop.

“We realised that farmers are no longer interested in producing cotton, so we encouraged them to cultivate other crops by providing fertiliser and other inputs to them,” Adamu said.