Speaking to Food farm News, the Vice President of National Cassava Growers Association (NCGA), Alhaji Abubakar Chika Aliyu,a Sokoto state origin said that the Executive governor has assisted about 7000 farmers who are state indigenes to pay N35million as membership registration fees and also 10% of N150,000.00 each to Bank of Agriculture (BOA) as an account deposit requirement for cassava intervention loan. The rest of his excerpts are stated below
Can we meet you sir?
My name is Abubakar Chika Aliyu, the Vice-Presdent, National Cassava Growers Association (NCGA) from Sokoto state.
What is the assessment performance of cassava in Sokoto state?
You see when you talk about cassava, it is not in Sokoto state alone, i am representing the whole nation. But if you want me to speak on Sokoto state, I will gladly do that. In the whole of the Federation, I am proud to say that the Executive Government of Sokoto state has done very much in farming and not cassava alone. Almost all aspect of farming he has touched. His Excellency has done so much for cassava farmers, he is the only Governor in the whole of the Federation that have paid the thirty five million naira National Cassava Growers Association’s (NCGA) registration money for the whole seven thousand cassava farmers in the state. He has also assisted them to pay the required 10% Bank of Agriculture account deposit that will qualify them for N150,000.00 loan provided by the Federal government as 10 billion naira intervention fund for cassava.
Can you expatiate on this 10% mandate deposit to BOA?
The 10% is the amount requested from each farmer as deposit into BOA before the cassava intervention of N150, 000.00 to each farmer can be collected. This amount of 10% has to be paid by all farmers throughout the federation, but because of the special love of the sokoto state Governor for farmers especially cassava, he had to pay for every registered farmers. It is the only state that has a booklet of all the cassava farmers in the country. The NCGA has a complete list of cassava farmers in the state. One in the Federal ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, one in the state ministry of Agriculture and one at the association office. Practically I will say we have the record of the all cassava farmers in the state, we know them by their name, and telephone numbers, farm locations and their BOA account numbers. This is a reflection of better repositioning of association to meet present day ATA reality of using farmers cooperative to drive farming as business.
Are you saying issue of political farmers is now ruled out in the present dispensation arrangement?
Yes that era is gone because all your identity must reflect in our record before you can be accepted as our members. And when you talk about cassava before, people don’t take it serious. Thank God the Federal Government was able to reposition it from being seen as consumable alone, but start adding value to it for other industrial uses-like ethanol, glucose syrup, sweetener etc. As a matter of fact, we position this crop properly; this nation can use it to sustain its economy.
What is your reaction to cassava being regarded as southern crops?
Let me tell you one thing, our Governor is the only one that has over 200 hectares of cassava. If you go there now, you can see the farm. See the love he has for the production. The same with the commissioner for agriculture and the permanent secretary, and the Director of Agriculture also have a farm. You see, not only the common men are producing cassava in Sokoto state, but the elites also are in the production. The Sokoto production in term of cassava alone can feed the whole nation. Because initially people believe cassava is just meant for consumption but we have now realized that the crop has a lot of things to be used for apart from consumption but industrial uses. There is a lot of prospect for it in Sokoto state with 7,000 being registered as cassava farmers producing 10 hectares each. You can imagine what quantity they will produce yearly.
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