Gombe: Mr Hassan Abdulateef, a rice farmer from Difa Community in Yamaltu/Deba Local Government Area, has revealed that he earns at least N2.5 million annually from rice cultivation.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Abdulateef has been solely engaged in rice farming for the past 20 years. He emphasized that rice farming is a lucrative agricultural venture that could provide self-employment and empowerment for youths. Abdulateef shared, “I have been cultivating rice during the dry season for the past twenty years in Difa Community and this is the only job I do to care for my household.”
He noted that while he generates between N4 million and N5 million annually from rice cultivation, the high cost of inputs such as fertilizers and security measures reduces his net earnings to N2.5 million. Abdulateef has been compelled to hire hunters at a cost of N600,000 for three months to protect his crops from hippopotamus attacks, which occur frequently at night.
Abdulateef encouraged Gombe youths with access to water bodies to engage in irrigation farming as a means of self-empowerment, rather than relying on white-collar jobs. He also called on the state government to provide necessary irrigation facilities and inputs to support youths in communities near water bodies. Additionally, he urged the government to address the issue of hippopotamus attacks on farmland to help farmers minimize their losses.
