Stakeholders in agriculture sector have appealed to the Federal Government to relax what they called stringent rules in accessing credit facilities by farmers. They made the appeal in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) across the country on way forward for farmers to boost food production and ensure food security. Mr Jerry Ossai, former Delta Chapter Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), urged government at all levels to relax all stringent rules to enable farmers access credit facilities to boost food production. Ossai said that although funds were available to provide lending facilities to farmers in Nigeria, but the conditions were too stringent for rural farmers to benefit. He said that access to farm inputs like high yielding seedlings, fertilisers, herbicides among others has made investment in agriculture especially farming very difficult. “Loans are there to be obtained but the conditions are too stringent for rural farmers to access. “Liberal terms to cooperative groups may help to address the challenge of funds and access to input may be tied to repayment with harvest,” he said. Some other stakeholders, who spoke with NAN, also urged commercial banks to promote the Federal Government’s credit policy to enable farmers to access loan. According to them, such policies would promote farming in Nigeria and attract youths to embrace farming. They said that lack of access to credit facilities, especially to the rural farmers, was a major impediment to agricultural development in the country.
Dr Francis Umokoro, Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture in Bayelsa, said that the issue of credit loan was one of the major challenges to farmers.
“Some commercial banks, who are responsible to granting loan to farmers should promote the policy; bank should be considerate in their request for collateral,’’ he said.
Similarly, Mr Ezeikel Ogbianko, Chairman, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) in Bayelsa, said rural farmers were lagging behind due lack of access to loan.
“Credible platform should be created for easy access to credit facilities to encourage farmers because collateral is not helping matters.
“The rural farmers are the main engine of agriculture in the country but these groups of farmers can hardly gain access to credit.
“Yes, we do have inputs from Federal and State Government; the fertilizer comes in a subsidised price.
“We Farmers, want the disbursement of farm inputs to always go through the traditional rulers, who reside in the rural areas and know who the real farmers are,’’ Ogbianko said. Dr Awotein George, the Chairman of Fisheries Society of Nigeria (FISON), Rivers Chapter, urged Federal Government to subsidise fish feeds for the society as it subsidised fertiliser for crop farmers.
George, also a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Agriculture, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, told NAN that feeds provide about 70 per cent of the cost of fish production.
The lecturer said the individual farmers could not access personal loans to invest in agricultural programmes due to their inability to provide the required collateral facility.
He said that the formation of cooperative societies was one of the solutions to challenges facing farmers in the country.
According to him, financial institutions were not willing to grant loans to cooperative societies and other corporate organisations.
He alleged that sometimes grants meant for farmers by international agricultural organisations were hijacked and diverted by some State governments.
George said the tractor hiring in the Rivers had collapsed, adding that it is yet to be revived due to the neglect of the sector.
Ossai, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in Delta, said annual budgets for the agriculture sector were declining over the years “because successive governments have not been able to put their priorities right.’’
He urged government at all levels to strengthen their support for agricultural transformation to diversify the economy.
He blamed part of the delay in planting to none receipt of the inputs from the Agriculture Growth Enhancement Support (GES) Scheme.
Ossai said that farmers were not happy with the delayed rainfall this year as most farmers started their planting activities at about mid-May.
Also speaking with NAN, a farmer, Mr Dengiyefa Mieseighe, said the delay in rainfall was not a hindrance to planting in Bayelsa because of the swampy nature of the area.
“It is true that we have been experiencing delay rains but we cannot stop planting; our state is already swampy in nature and it very suitable to all crops.
“We do not need much rain because when there is too much rain it might affect our farmland,’’ Mieseighe said.
Farmers in Cross River also decried what they called the lack of farm inputs from the State Government for the 2015 farming season. According to them, lack of input from government for the current farming season has not only affected farmers in the state but will affect crops production in 2015.
Mr Owali Ilem, a member of Commercial Agriculture Development Association in the Cross River, told NAN that the situation had already taken a toll on farm crops production.
He said that political activities at the state and the Federal levels had affected the supply of fertiliser and other farm inputs.
“I am very uncomfortable about the whole situation. Politics took over everything and up till now nothing is happening midway into the year. It is as bad as that,’’ he said.
Ilem, who specialises in Palm Oil production, said that he was yet to get seedlings from the government as at June ending.
He said even the distribution of fertiliser was yet to begin in the state.
“Everything is at standstill. Even the launching of the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) Scheme is yet to take place in the state and to the best of my knowledge, nothing is happening,’’ he said.
Mr Sam Inyang, former Chairman of AFAN in Cross River, told NAN that the non-distribution of fertiliser and other farm inputs would definitely affect output this year.
Inyang, who said that the situation had made farmers helpless for the current farming season, expressed concerns that the spiral effect could be very harsh on the food production and the economy.
“We may not expect a bumper harvest in the state this year, in view of what farmers are currently experiencing, ‘’ he said.
A top official of the State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Gabriel Agba, blamed the situation on the political situation or transition in the country.
“You know we have new administrations at both the state and federal levels.
“Right now the new administrations have not come out with any official policy on Agriculture.
“So everything appears to be at a standstill. Most of the agricultural programmes in the state are collaborative between the federal and state governments.
“Incidentally, we have a different party at the centre and another party at the state, so it is difficult for anybody to speak on any programme unless there is a policy directive from the federal,’’ he said. Also, George, a farmer and a don, suggested that the Federal and State Governments should appropriate 40 per cent of their annual budgets to agriculture sector.
George said that increased budgetary allocation to the sector would guarantee food security in the country.
George said that the sub sector had faced neglect by successive governments, when compared to the fact that Nigeria’s economic mainstay in the 1960 and 1970’s had been in agriculture.
According to him, since food sufficiency is part of the components that made the United States of America (USA) a world power, the army of unemployed youths could also be engaged in agriculture in Nigeria.
The don urged the government to pay more attention to the sector by assisting farmers with farm inputs such as fertiliser, tractors and seeds among others.
He, however, commended the previous administration which ensured that real farmers got the fertiliser directly as against the old system where fertiliser was hijacked by businessmen and politicians.
Some other respondents also told NAN that reduced rainfall in the 2015 planting season would boost cassava production in the South-South region, but may affect production in the north.
Mr Godwin Akandu, President, Etche Farmers’ Cooperative Union, recalled that in the past, the South-South terrain was known for all-year-round rains and farming.
“ But this year, the region had experienced a reduced rainfall. In the South-South region, June/July is the peak of rains but this year, we are experiencing reduced rainfall,’’ he said.
Akandu attributed the delay in rainfall to the effect of global warming and urged the Federal Government to increase agricultural allocation to combat the trend.
He said while excess rainfall affects arable crops like cassava in the South-South leading to loss of cassava tubers in water logged soils, it was an added advantage to farmers in the Northern zone.
Akandu also appealed to the Federal Government to ensure functional dams for effective irrigation to boost agricultural productivity in the North.
The AFAN, Akwa Ibom branch Chairman, Mr Dennis Etong, said that capacity for food production was low in the state because farmers have no access to loan facilities.
“At the Bank of Agriculture I was told that so much money sent to Akwa Ibom farmers were usually returned because farmers in the state could not access it,” Etong alleged.
He said that the bank explained that the farmers could not fulfil the conditions attached to accessing the loans.
Etong added that the Growth Enhancement scheme (GES) which used to assist farmers to get fertilisers was not forthcoming this planting season.
According to him, farmers in the state bought fertiliser from open market at exorbitant prices ranging from N4, 000 to N7, 000 a bag depending on the source of supply.
He appealed to the government to involve farmers’ body in policies formulation concerning farmers, adding that the Federal Government should not abandon GES programme introduced by the last administration.
Another don at the University of Uyo, Dr Nditoi Idem, and an agronomist, said that if government does not encourage youths to go to farm, even more that 90 million Nigerians would be hungry next year.
“The number of people going to farm is very low because our youths are not interested in farming.
“All the youths are interested in politics, they want to be personal assistants, political thugs instead of farmers, which is more lucrative and permanent than politics,’’ Idem alleged.
The don also said that farmers in the country were not having access to loans and fertiliser to improve their yields.
He said that agricultural inputs do not always get to the real farmers rather they were given to politicians who sold to farmers at a very high price.
Speaking on the effort of the state government to boost food production, Mr Akwaowo Obop, said that government had given loans to youths and women under different schemes.
Obop, who is the Head of Information, State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said that government had given N250, 000 to each beneficiary under Women Agro Entrepreneurship Development Programme (WAEDEP).
He said the state government also provided N500, 000 each as loan to some youths Integrated Farmers Scheme (IFS) to encourage them to take to farming.
Obop, however, lamented that farmers in the state do not have access to processing equipment, storage facilities and tractors. NAN
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