Nigerian farmers have called on the Federal government to ensure it creates an enabling environment for agricultural activities to thrive.
The farmers also said that the enabling environment will attract the support and willingness of different stakeholders to address issues around value addition.
Arc Kabir Ibrahim, President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in an interview with journalists, said inputs like fertilisers and good seeds should be available at affordable prices devoid of monopoly.
Ibrahim said there should be provision of constant power supply for farmers to pay. He also said the Federal Ministry of Water Resources should explore the country’s water bodies for irrigation purposes.
“Good seeds should be available and they should be mechanisation. Tractors should be available at affordable prices.
“We are about 40 million farmers, we need an enabling environment, we need fertilisers to be available in Nigeria like coca-cola, and there should be no monopoly of it,” Ibrahim said.
Also, Igwe Hilary Uche, National President, Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria, said he had grouped the oil palm farmers in clusters in some states which was a directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), but the funds were yet to come.
“Oil palm is capital intensive, you hardly see average farmers in oil palm because it takes a long gestation period before yielding anything and in any country where oil palm is supporting the economy of that country, the government of that country supports the production of oil palm.
“We have been writing to the federal government through memos, write-ups and calling them on meetings to sensitise them on how viable oil palm is in Nigeria and how great oil palm will help the economy.
“Agriculture will support the country and masses because they will be feeding, if the government can support agriculture fully, Nigeria can never lack in anything because it is a rich country. We have reached out to the CBN countless times, I gave them all they needed including data of farmers which I grouped in clusters,” Igwe Uche noted.
The Katsina State Vice Chairman, Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN), Rabe Bala, said most farmers are not well informed on modern farming techniques.
He said farmers registered under the CBN Anchor Borrower Program don’t get inputs at appropriate time, adding that they mostly get inputs in July or August.
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