That's a pest called Scale!

It sucks at the juice from your plants and secrets a sticky substance called Honeydew. Ants are attracted to the honeydew, so no surprise you're battling that problem too.

Simple solution to the problem is to take a Q-Tip soaked in alcohol and rub it over the scale themselves. They'll curl up and die instantly without damaging your plant. Just be sure to check under the leaves too and the stems as well. They tend to hide all over your plant and can be hard to spot. I'd also suggest a liberal application of Neem oil or other organic pesticide to prevent them from coming back.

thank you! I guess I know how I am spending my Saturday :) Good thing the fig is small. What do people do if their fig trees are large and infested with scale? Is there any wholesale method of getting rid of them?

Ladybugs eat young scale. So if you can get the big ones off and then get some ladybugs that should help.