The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Farmers

  • Aliyu speaks for farmers

    Aliyu speaks for farmers

    Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu has decried the poor provision of agric facilities to farmers by the commercial banks in the state.

    Aliyu, who made the remark during the annual Bankers’ Clearing Committee’s end of year award ceremony in Minna, said only N62 million was disbursed last year.

    He said that the state government was planning to hold a discussion with the stakeholders on how to improve farmers’ accessibility to agriculture loans.

    Aliyu said the time had come when commercial banks should participate actively in complementing government programmes, especially in education, by intervening in the running of any school they had chosen.

    He said his administration would continue to patronise commercial banks operating in the state and provide the enabling environment for them to actualise their mandate for the benefit of people of Niger State.

    Alhaji Mohammed Dangusau, the chairman of the Bankers’ Clearing Committee, said only two out of the 17 commercial Banks operating in the state, offered 224 loans to farmers under the agriculture credit guarantee scheme.

    He, however, expressed the hope of increased participation by other banks through the introduction of the Nigerian incentive-based risk sharing system for agriculture lending.

    Dangusau said the system was expected to cover risk sharing, insurance, technical assistance, and bank incentive.

    Union Bank won the prizes for best bank in agriculture lending and best bank in loan recovery, while First Bank won award for being the bank with the highest currency deposit.

     

  • Gunmen kill three farmers in Plateau

    Unidentified gunmen on Monday killed three persons on their farms at Kassa Village in the Barkin-Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau.

    The Special Task Force maintaining peace in the troubled state, said in a statement in Jos that two of the suspected attackers were however, gunned down by STF troops who swiftly rushed to the scene.

    The statement, signed by the Media Officer of the STF, Capt. Salisu Mustapha, said the attackers invaded the farm at about 8:00am and opened fire on the farmers.

    “The STF quickly responded to the distress call from some of the fleeing victims but on sighting the troops, the gunmen opened fire on them.

    “This led to a gun duel that resulted to the killing of two of the suspected attackers.

    “STF personnel also arrested four of the gunmen who were injured in the process, while three AK 47 rifles and a locally made rifle were recovered from them.

    “Also recovered were 45 rounds of 7.62 (special) and 31 other cartridges,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the STF media officer as saying in the statement.

    The statement also disclosed that gunmen on Saturday attacked some cows while grazing at Kassa area of Ropp in the Barkin-Ladi Local Government Area.

     

  • Farmers seek weather insurance

    A WEATHER insurance scheme would reduce losses many farmers suffered last year after poor weather, the President, Agriculture Graduates Association of Nigeria, Comrade Michael Egbuta, has said.

    He called on the government to introduce a national package of drought-related programmes. He said this should focus on risk management and preparedness for farmers and rural communities rather than crisis management.

    With climate change projected to increase the frequency, intensity, and duration of droughts, he said stronger national drought policies are needed to lessen the devastating impacts of this recurring natural disaster.

    Egbuta stressed that agriculture is dependent on environmental conditions, such as soils, climate, and weather. Because these factors cannot be modified, he urged the government to achieve significant efficiency improvements in these areas.

    The government,he said, should first do vulnerability and impact assessment of a drought disaster, create a monitoring and early warning system, and relief measures once the drought is under way.

    According to Egbuta, the association members lost output in its farms in 38 villages in Niger State due to the extreme flooding which affected harvests.

    He said farmers’associations and the Federal Government should consult to plan for agriculture, in what is expected to be an insecure food future underpinned by rapidly increasing population and rising demand for food products.

    He urged the government to support plant breeders striving to improve food security to develop drought tolerant seeds across the different climatic zones of the country.

    To meet the demands of the growing population and to provide food security, Egbuta said farmers need to increase the production.

  • FG to procure 10m handsets for farmers

    FG to procure 10m handsets for farmers

    The Federal government will spend between N40bn and N60bn to procure 10 million pieces of mobile phones from China and United States for free distribution to rural farmers across the country.

    The handsets would be made available to farmers before the end of March.

    The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote, who dropped the hint, said the rationale behind the planned distribution is to establish direct communication between the government and farmers on agricultural matters.

    She added that the beneficiaries would be “women and youth” in rural settings.

    Odusote, who spoke on a New Year Day in Igan – Ipabi community in Ijebu North East Local Government Area of Ogun State, explained that the handsets would also be accompanied with solar powered lamps that would serve as chargers for the phones in the event of power failure.

    She said: “You can do a rough estimate. We are talking about 10million handsets, each handset phone would cost may be N4, 000 or N6, 000 because it is in large number. We are not going to buy in pieces like that, we will buy directly from the manufacturing companies.

    “We have agreement with some organisations in China and some in the United States, they are going to provide all these handsets for us because they are also interested in investing in Agricultural sector in Nigeria. So you have the idea and estimate of the cost.”

     

  • Free pumping machines for farmers

    The Interim Chairman, Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State, Alhaji Isiyaku Faskari-Ahmad said the council had distributed 100 pumping machines to farmers for irrigation purposes.

    He told journalists in Faskari that the gesture was aimed at boosting food security and reducing extreme poverty among the people.

    Faskari-Ahmad further said that the machines were distributed free to the farmers to encourage their farming activities in the area, especially among the teeming unemployed.

    He said the council embarked on free distribution of farm inputs to farmers because farming is the major occupation of the people.

    He expressed optimism that the gesture would encourage increased food production, stressing that agriculture provides jobs to millions of Nigerians while increased government support would facilitate development.

    The chairman said the council had sold fertilisers, seeds and other inputs at subsidised rates to both rainy season and irrigation farmers. He enjoined the beneficiaries to make proper use of the items.

    He said his administration had embarked on the construction of feeder roads and health facilities in the rural areas to ease the difficulties experienced by the people. This, he said, would enhance their living conditions.

    He said 10 health centres had been inaugurated while the construction of four feeder roads began in September.

    Alhaji Idin Alo, the chairman, Irrigation Farmers’ Association in Faskari, commended the local government for the gesture, saying that it would enhance economic activities in the area.

    He said farmers in the area were known for cultivating vegetables, tubers and other items in commercial quantities through irrigation which served as lucrative sources of livelihood to their families.

     

  • Edo fish farmers to benefit from N200m loan

    Farmers in Edo state are to benefit from a N200m loan provided by the ECOWAS Fish Development Fund following payment of N100million counterpart fund by the state.

    The Director of Fishery in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Joseph Ogiagbe, made the disclosure on yesterday at Agenebode in Etsako East local government area.

    He said that previous administrations have undermined the scheme in the last six years by failing to meet the counterpart fund obligation.

    This, he said, was why fish farmers in the state have been unable to access any fund for the ECOWAS project.

    Ogiagbe said that with the payment of the N100 million counterpart fund, the N200 million is now accessible to farmers in the state.

    He noted that the ECOWAS Fish Project had been expanded to include fish pond owners unlike the previous arrangement where only fishermen had access to the loan.

    Ogiagbe disclosed that Fish Department in the ministry has already received over 800 applications for the scheme.

    The director regretted that ability of the farmers to access the fund hinged on the repayment of previous loans obtained by fish farmers in the state under the scheme.

    According to him, a total of 111 farmers out of the 214 who benefited from the scheme between 1993 and 2006 have defaulted in repaying their loans.

    He noted that the total money being owned by the farmers was more than N11 million.

    He said: “All we need is for the defaulters to pay up to 85 per cent of what they are owing for us to commence disbursement of the N200 million fund to the over 800 applications we have received.

    “Because we do not want to use force on the defaulters, we have decided to employ a means of getting them to defray their loans.”

    The Okuomagbe of Weppa Wanno, Dr. George Egabor, promised to ensure that his subjects who received loans under the scheme fulfilled their loan obligation.

  • ‘Nigerian farmers without succession plans’

    Many Nigerian farmers have no succession plan, an expert has said.

    Speaking with The Nation, the Managing Director, Talon Nigeria, Dr Lanre Talabi, said most farmers didn’t have succession plans because they don’t consider agriculture a dependable source of livelihood.

    He believes that lack of formal succession planning could add a considerable risk to the agricultural sector, with so many people quitting farming for other vocations.

    According to him, farmers without a succession plan do not involve their children in the running of the farm or the business on a day- to-day level.

    This lack of involvement, he noted, could impact negatively in the short and long term, because they don’t have successors to manage the farm after their death. Because of this, he said more farmers work beyond retirement age.

    Talabi said he has a succession plan in plan to ensure smooth transition. Some farmers, he said, continue to work to earn a living out of the farm throughout their retirement, adding that the proceeds can’t take care of an extra partner.

    He said returns from the farms cannot guarantee regular income in retirement adding that some don’t have capital asset to pass onto the next generation.

    For watchers, succession planning has to be considered far earlier and in a more formal way than it. There are growing concerns about farmers who work beyond the standard retirement age and frequently farm to an advanced age. Concerns border on health and safety needs and challenges. At a time of physical diminishment, older farmers face increased vulnerability to injuries and illness and may continue to perform tasks beyond their ability to safely accomplish the work.

    Reacting to the issue, the Managing Consultant, BA Consult, Mr Biodun Adesina said as self-employed workers, farmers can’t help continuing to farm – often at a reduced scale. Since they – don’t earn wages, he said they will not be able to retire at the age at which wage and salary earners quit the job. Unlike the rest of the population, he noted that farmers tend to remain in farming beyond the normal retirement age. It is not surprising to see farmers in their 70s still farming full-time.

    For watchers, with a large population of older farmers, retirement planning, including farm succession decision-making, is of considerable importance to farm households. On the balance, lack of interest in farming among heirs is the reason why older farmers don’t plan succession. Experts, however, canvass smooth and equitable transfer of the farm assets in families where some heirs intend to farm while others do not.

  • Edo farmers seek measures to avert food crisis

    Edo farmers seek measures to avert food crisis

    Farmers in Edo State have called on the Federal Government to take urgent measures to avert imminent food crisis as a result of flooding in parts of the country.

    The Coordinator, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), in Edo North Senatorial district,Alhaji Abdulahi Mohammed, made the call in an interview with journalists in Auchi.

    Mohammed observed that the floods had destroyed hundreds of hectares of farms in the state, adding that “even, the few farms that may have been spared, will have poor harvest’’.

    According to him, in Edo North alone, the flood destroyed all farmlands in Etsako Central, Etsako East and Esan South-East Local Government Areas.

    He explained that rice, yam and cassava farmers were mostly affected by the flood.

    “Without rice from Udaba, Udochi and Anegbette in Etsako Central, yam and cassava from Etsako East and Esan South East, there will be no food in the state.

    “It is, therefore, urgently imperative on government to find a lasting solution to the problem to avoid serious food and health crisis as well as social problems”.

    Similarly, Mr Ekins Jimoh, an extension agent with Edo Agricultural Development Programme (ADP), called for financial grants and farm inputs to farmers in the state to reduce the effect of the flood disaster.

    Jimoh said: “All the farmers need from the federal and state governments now are farm inputs like seedlings, fertilisers and tractors to assist them to get back.

    “The farmers lost all they had laboured for throughout the year to the flood, and in order to encourage them to cope with the situation, government should, as a matter of urgency, come to their aid’’.

  • FG to distribute free mobile phones to 10m farmers

    FG to distribute free mobile phones to 10m farmers

    The Federal Government on Friday said it was planning to distribute free mobile telephones to 10 million small holder farmers to fast track access to farming supports.

    The

    Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina disclosed this at the ongoing 2012 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Arusha, Tanzania.

    He said the initiative was designed to start from 2013 and five million women farmers would benefit from it.

    Adesina, who was formerly the Vice President of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the organisers of the event, said that financing was imperative if the agricultural sector must work.

    He said that within 90-days that he assumed office as minister, the corruption of four decades in fertiliser distribution was stopped by the removal of government from direct procurement and distribution.

    He said that a Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS) was established under which small holder farmers were getting partial support for accessing improved seeds and fertiliser.

    “To ensure that only legitimate framers get inputs, a bio-metric database was developed with electronic wallet system for the first time in Africa through which farmers obtain support from agro-dealers and input suppliers.

    “The system involved 25 seed and fertiliser companies, 25 banks, 900 agro-dealers, 700 redemption centres nation-wide, which generated a database of 4.5 million farmers,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the minister as saying at the forum.

    Adesina said that the system cuts out middlemen and political farmers.