Some farmers under the Aegis of Nigerian Farmers Group and Cooperative Society has described a nation that cannot feed itself as a dependent nation.
The group which gave this indication at a media briefing over Ukraine’s food assistance to Nigeria, said Nigeria can fend for herself if farmers in the country are given the enabling environment to thrive.
While expressing worry on why Nigeria should decend so low to receive 25 tonnes of wheat from a war-ravaged country like Ukraine as an emergency food assistance to Nigeria, the aggrieved farmers tasked the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency invest more in the agriculture sector to guard against food shortage in the coming years.
According to them, more investment by Government into the agriculture sector, with effective monitoring and supervision of available interventions, would go a long way to enhance food security in the country.
The Managing Partner of the Group, Retson Tedheke who read the speech of the association, also decried naira devaluation, when compared to the Dollar.
They therefore appealed to the Federal Government to adopt advanced farming techniques and invest greatly in the agriculture sector towards surmounting the problem of scarcity and inflation the nation is grappling with.
The farmers further blamed the food shortage situation in the country to the failure of the Anchor Borrower’s programme.
They expressed regret that the billions of Naira spent on the ‘Anchor Borrowers’ programme was channeled to contractors rather than those in the industry with requisite experience.
On the way forward, Tedheke hinted that the Group has decided to come up with a technology driven farming investment programme called “Agbado-vision” towards rescuing the nation from an imminent food crisis.
They expressed optimism that if President Tinubu supports the “Agbado-vision”, jobs would be created, food production in surplus, and the Naira will be streghtened.
“We have learned, we have people that can utilize technology to put this land to good use…but about $10 million is going to be on the table based on the blockchain technology to drive revolution for the greater good of our people, for the stability of our country, for national security, for social stability”.
Also speaking , a member of the group, Mike Onimisi, said there was need to revolutionize agricultural finance.
“When Government put the pressure of funding on the Banks.Whereas In America, Government gives you money and says you must give it to the farmers at low or no interest rate. So the reality is that Government is not doing what they should do”.
“As such when you put the monies of the Commercial Banks, the Commercial Banks are profit oriented, so their own is to get money. Government’s own is to support for security, as natural security. So the point is Government needs to do more. If Government is not doing more, you will have Insecurity”.
“The question I always ask is : Do you want herder -farmers clash?
Do you want Banditry, Do you want Kidnappers, Or you want food security?
If America is subsidizing their farmers with over 100b dollars every year, Egypt is doing 5.5 Trillion Naira every year.Thailand is doing 3.5 Trillion naira every year in subsidy, why asking the Bank to go and fund Agriculture when Government is the only one that has the capacity to lend unlimitless?” Tedheke questioned.
Remi Johnson, Edited By Grace Namiji
Top popular
Post comments (0)