Farmers in Akwa Ibom
State have lamented the continuous neglect by the state government in
the area of food production. They observed that their inability to gain
access to fertiliser at the beginning of this year’s farming season may
affect food production. The farmers under the aegis of the All Farmers
Association of Nigeria (AFAN) explained that government’s attitude
towards agriculture is evident that it is playing politics with food
production.
AFAN Chairman,
Michael Udo Akpan who spoke to NEXT in Uyo, the state capital said
though the farmers have commenced cultivating their farms for planting,
they were yet to receive the fertilisers they applied for from the
government.
He alleged that
though the government has been carrying out the public sale of
fertilisers for the last three years, they were yet to benefit from it.
Mr Akpan said the estimated 15,000 farmers that constitute the body were
still involved in subsistence farming as they were yet to embrace
mechanised farming due to the paucity of funds and government support.
“The government has
for many years now been giving us fertilisers at subsidised rate of
N1800 but for about 2-3 years now, the farmers have not been getting
fertilisers.
This year, I have
applied for 18,600 bags for now for our farmers, so we can give at least
600 bags per local government area to start with, but the Commissioner
for agriculture is yet to approve it. If he does not approve it, there
is no way we can get fertilisers.
“We are yet to see
what the ministry will do to encourage the farmers. The N1 billion that
was to be given to farmers from the federal government which the state
government has collected since 2009 and proposed to give out, till now
nothing is done. If now no loan is given to farmers, I am not sure of
the quantity of fertilisers they may give. All that they do is to
reduce. Like you know, we are in business, we don’t cultivate to loose
because if you plant an extensive farm area and you cannot maintain it
to harvest, you are loosing out, so all we do is to cultivate what we
can do within our resources” Mr Akpan said.
He noted that the
mechanised farmers are about 30 in number and pleaded on the government
to look into the area of practical farming in what he termed “actual
farming and not farming in the files whose product can never be eaten.”
Noting that the perceived loan given to farmers did not get to the
‘actual farmers’, he maintained that real food production could only be
achieved if the government liaise with the farmers.
NEXT learnt that the sale of fertilisers have begun but efforts to
reach the Commissioner for Agriculture, Eno Akpan to respond were
unsuccessful as he failed to pick his calls.
