Farmer wants govts to provide silos for storage of farm produce

Standard Agro Farms

Mr Taiwo Falana, Director, Standard Agro Farms, on Monday called on the three tiers of government to provide more silos where farmers could store their produce after harvesting.


Falana told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that improper storage system was a major challenge facing harvested grains that could be sold during scarcity.

He said that farmers required the support of governments in drying and preserving their harvested maize, guinea corn, millets and others.``This is important to prevent weevils from destroying the grains.

``There are government-owned silos in different parts of the country, most of which are not in use.
``Government should allow farmers to have access to them.

``They can be privatised or sublet them to the farmers, whereby, they will serve as storage for harvested grains and also be used as drying centres.

``If farmers do not store their produce properly, they are left with the option of selling them almost after harvesting at an unprofitable price.

``Proper storage system ensures availability of these crops the year round, whereby farmers are able to sell their produce anytime they want,’’ he said.

Falana said that if farmers could have direct access to the silos, ``They will serve as multipurpose centres where farmers will carry out their post harvest activities.

``We want a system where farmers can harvest, also dry and shell their grains almost immediately in a secured environment.

``These will save us from a situation whereby, when we are drying our produce, the weather interrupts us, which has always been our challenges,’’ he said.

Falana said that the availability of the storage centres will ease the process of preserving the life shelf of the crops.

The farm director also said that the stores could be used as collection centres where farmers could sell to retailers at regulated prices. (NAN)