All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has called on governments at all levels to ensure quick intervention in the provision of inputs and implements to farmers.
Mr Shehu Galadima, Chairman of AFAN, in Minna that there was a need for the three tiers of government to provide farmers with adequate interventions.
Galadima said that this measure would ensure commensurate increased yields for farmers’ investments, considering that agriculture was time bound.
“There is the need to provide farm inputs and implements on time because agricultural activities are time bound.
“We need improved seeds that we can plant on time, in order to get commensurate yields.
“Last year, our inputs in Niger came late and some of the seeds we got were not genuine, so it affected us negatively.
“Farming is a seasonal thing, if you don’t plant at the right time, you may not get good yield,” he said.
According to Galadima, most government interventions such as loans, inputs and implements often get to farmers late, thereby making them cultivate late.
He said that the bottlenecks associated with accessing some of the interventions was also another challenge for the farmers.
“A good example is the Anchor Borrowers Programme, which many of our farmers refused to apply for because of the difficult procedures involved,” he said.
The AFAN Chairman also said that there was a need to transform farming into agri-business, in order to feed Nigerians and sustain the economy.
“There is a need to take farming seriously and adhere to good agricultural practices with modern technology,” he said.
Galadima said that farmers in the state were facing challenges of inadequate inputs and implements, fake seedlings when made available, and insecurity.
He also said suspected bandits had seized the fertile farm lands at the forest, noting that this had also made it difficult for farmers to get good yields.
Galadima, who described the 2022 dry season farming as a mirage to farmers in the state, said; “many of the 18 irrigation farms in the state are moribund because of inadequate water, owing to lack of maintenance.”
He urged the government and the people to be proactive about security in order to secure lives and property.
“The government must take the war to the criminals instead of giving them the opportunity to come to us.
“The people must also be giving useful information to the security agencies instead of being informants to criminals,” he said.
AFAN has more than 1.6 million members across Niger state.
