00:00Not long ago, it wasn't safe to be on this farmland on the outskirts of Maiduguri.
00:07It used to be controlled by Boko Haram jihadist militants.
00:12Well, the location we are now, the geolocation, is best described as the Mole slash Dalwa area.
00:20An area that was almost a no-go area, just like you said, because it was actually invaded by the terrorists.
00:29But with the intervention of the military and other security agencies, we've been able to stem the tide
00:35and then repel them far backwards from the city.
00:40But rural communities are under such threat that the state has deployed rangers to protect them.
00:47Otherwise, they'll be targets for theft, extortion and even kidnapping for ransom.
00:54Now, soldiers, civilian volunteers and even former Boko Haram fighters patrol while farmers tend their crops.
01:04But the rangers are only on duty for certain fixed daytime hours and work within a boundary set by the military.
01:13Habiba Balami and her workers start early to get the most done in the time they have.
01:20We came here around eight. We came together with our securities inside the van.
01:26Our securities are OK. They are punctual and they do their duties accordingly.
01:34After the time we are given to close, that is 1.30, we have to leave the farm. Everybody will rush and go.
01:42But for Eladjigoni, the security is not enough. Two of his three farms are beyond the military's boundary.
01:50The problem is that there are some areas even now you cannot go. I have three farms.
01:56So there is one village called Marikura. So the Boko Haram is there. You cannot go there even now.
02:04Since 2010, I bought that farm. So I have never been there. In 2019, I used to do it.
02:10But 2010, 2011, up to date, nobody is going there because the Boko Haram is there.
02:14They will arrest you and take you too. There will be a ransom of about 1 million, 2 million.
02:19So that's why we are not going there.
02:21But not everyone is being so cautious. There are farmers taking risks.
02:25I'm told they are returning to abandoned land without military protection.
02:31They say it's more fertile and it's worth the money they have to pay to Boko Haram to use it.
02:36But security officials say these are the farmers that are being kidnapped and killed.
02:41And they are calling on people to stay within the area they can protect.
02:47This farmer survived an encounter with Boko Haram.
02:53I had been planting and getting my farm ready. That's when the terrorists came.
02:58They took our cell phones and money, also from our neighbours.
03:03Three people were kidnapped. They took them away and demanded ransom.
03:11The insecurity for farmers is worsening an already bad food crisis in the region.
03:16The UN's World Food Programme says 3 million people in Borno State are food insecure.
03:23At this aid facility in Maiduguri, malnutrition cases have reached record levels.
03:30Every year we see a surge of malnutrition cases.
03:34But since 2022 it has been different.
03:38So each year it increases actually and usually like a two-fold increase compared to the previous year.
03:45And then this year it's way much higher than even the previous years.
03:50So last week was very difficult actually for our team.
03:54Because we got so many patients coming in and also so many very sick also.
03:59Some of them could barely spend 24 hours and they died unfortunately.
04:05We lost a record number for a week I would say. Almost 30 something patients died.
04:12The rainfall has been better this season, raising hopes for a good harvest.
04:16But that will make farmers even more vulnerable to Boko Haram militants
04:20who will be looking to steal the crops they've worked hard to cultivate.
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