Our farmers need support, says AFAN president

The president of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Architect Kabir Ibrahim has said that members of his group need to be supported from the grassroots to federal level by government with effective agricultural policies towards ensuring food security. He made the statement in a chat with Food Farm News in his office at Abuja.

 Arc. Ibrahim said that the Association was more prepared than ever, with government interventions and policies, though, to channel an easy life to its members that the present administration has put in place to assist farmers.

He stressed that AFAN as an association had gone through a trial due to lack of government and corporate private organizations’ support, as form of social responsibility,  to energise the farmers’ apex body to efficiently perform in the development of agriculture and farming practices, generally.

The farmers’ helmsman said that the present Agric Minister, Alhaji Sabo Nanono who was a former chairman of the Kano Chapter had promised to partner with the Association in terms of policy implementation pointing out that “he has since been conversing with us and carrying us along since assumption of office.”

He emphasised that farmers have suffered due to lack of access to inputs and mechanization in the last few years, but commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Anchor Borrower Programme that many rice farmers have benefitted so much, pleading that all other crop groups should also be beneficiaries.

The AFAN leader corroborated the readiness of the FMARD to work with the association in order to ensure appropriate assistance to farmers at the rural levels adding the visit to Minister who also was a member has confirmed the plan of the Government to work more with farmers.  “We are trying to reposition ourselves to key into the new administration and present minister of Agriculture, Alhaji Nanono vision to move the sector forward in such a way that members will easily get inputs and mechanization support for cultivation and planting towards commercial food production and marketing.”

He continued, “I want to believe that you are aware of much litigation against the association, but thank God we are overcoming them with some of the elections we have had at the states level with some of the chairmen being returned unopposed due to performance and achievement in Oyo, Lagos, Sokoto and the rest.”

In a related development, the Lagos state chairman of AFAN, Otunba Femi Oke in a chat with Food Farm News commended the effort of the State Government on the occasion of World Food Day held at police college, Ikeja saying that the involvement of registered farmers in government policy was very germane to ensuring food security.

He commended the decision to close up our land borders against smugglers adding it would enhance markets and job creation and that more needed to be done to encourage farmers in the state and nationwide.

The number one Lagos farmer stressed that security must be taken seriously to protect farmers who work in different locations in the farms against kidnapping.

The Oyo state AFAN chairman, Engr. Olumide Ayinla also commended the Governor of the state Engr. Seyi Makinde for the payment of counterpart fund for cultivation of 50,000 hectares for cassava, 10 for rice and 10 also for vegetables against dry season farming.

Ayinla said that already farmers in the state have started to organise themselves to enable them to benefit from the anchor borrowers programme between the state, the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) and The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending ( NIRSAL) saying that the preparation was part of what brought the official of NIRSAL to our office today.