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Nigerian Farmers under the Zero Hunger Commodity Farmers’ Association of Nigeria have urged the Federal Government to urgently find a lasting solution to the incessant farmers/herders crisis, warning that food shortage is imminent as farmers continue to abandon farms for fear of attack.
The association in a communiqué issued at the end of its meeting in Abuja, signed by Tunde Arosanyin, the coordinator of the farmers’ group, made available to journalists in Ilorin, Kwara State recently, however commended the government for sustaining the Anchor Borrowers Programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Speaking on the welfare of the association, Arosanyin identified late distribution of input to the beneficiaries of the Anchor Borrowers programme to be the major challenge of the scheme.
“We commended the ABP of the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria in accessing credit and input to farmers in the last two years.
“However it was noted that none farmers are also given input and credit as a means of political patronage which may derail the scheme. The meeting also noted late distribution of seed, chemicals and fertilizers to beneficiaries. Some of the inputs are substandard and has expired,” the statement said.
It also commended the establishment of the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) as well as the Nigerian Agricultural Foundation.
According to the statement, the two bodies which are in the attendance of the meeting are playing good roles in the agricultural sector of the national economy.
The association identified provision of input, credit facility at single digit interest rate and good market prices for farmers as critical factors that government must considered if agriculture was expected to drive the economy.
The association frowned at the delay in budget presentation and passage in the country, explained that it was a major constraint to economic performance of the country.
It noted that poor allocation to the agricultural sector in the last decade was a sign that the country was not yet ready to give the sector a priority, while commending the Nigerian Metrological Agency (NIMET) for providing accurate guide on weather reports to farmers across the country.
