Prioritize Agric Value Chains – AFAN President

The President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Architect Kabiru Ibrahim, has urged the Federal Government to prioritise Agriculture Value Chain and revisit some of the existing policies to make agriculture work properly in the Country.

 

Architect Ibrahim who disclosed this recently during a chat with newsmen said that if the Growth Empowerment Scheme (GES) had been expanded to reach every farmer, they would have been agitating for it.

“From the records that were given out by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, about 14.5 million farmers were captured. But you know we have farmers in excess of that in Nigeria. This means that they captured political farmers, AFAN was not involved” He noted.

According to the AFAN President, the GES is a good policy, however it should be segregated. “It doesn’t make sense to give two bags of fertilizer and 12.5kg of seeds to every farmer. Farmers’ needs should be assessed. With the concern of this government for agriculture, I believe the policy would be sustained”.

Architect Ibrahim noted that for proper development of various crops and livestock across the Country, the Agricultural Value Chains should be prioritized.

He therefore called on President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint a minister that has the passion for agriculture and accommodates the views of other stakeholders so that the sector can be properly positioned, adding that the present administration should restore the dignity of agriculture as promised to Nigerians.