The Federal Government ( FG), World Bank project supposedly meant to boost nutritional vitamin A cassava cuttings for edible tubers against year 2023 may have been stalled as millions of these items are already laying waste at the office of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), South West, Ibadan. Food Farm News reveals.
Food Farm New visit to Ibadan Moorplantation office of the FMARD, South West Directorate revealed that farmers may have declined off taking these cuttings due to dryness and rottenness caused by long approval delay from the FMARD Headquarters in Abuja.
The volume of the cuttings was described as very huge in terms of naira value, running to millions Naira being an enhanced vitamin A cassava that is said to be medicinal to the body by World Heath Organization prescriptions. This particular variety is said to be more expensive than others in the open market.
It was gathered that a similar thing happened last year around September when rotten and very dried cuttings were given to farmers to plant without any gains as many didn't grow at all.
Mr. Adeniyi Akeem Ajayi, a cassava farmer from Iseyin told us that similar thing happened last year saying " this is the type of cuttings they gave us around September last year which didn't do well. We asked for cuttings that are fresh, and not the ones that sun has dried like these types of last year"
Food Farm News saw these valuable cassava cuttings wasting away on Tuesday, 20 June, and became inquisitive to know what would have happened until some farmers sadly expressed their disappointment on why FMARD had to wait this long since February when they were trained towards planting the improved cassava cuttings for multiplications to other farmers as edible cassava.
Some of the cassava farmers who had come from far and near were very furious saying that the cuttings may not be too good to plant since many of them are already dried and rotten for planting.
They argued that this wastages wouldn't have occurred if the items had been immediately given as starter pack after the February trainings across the state before now, adding that " these are millions of naira worth of items wasting away especially being a vitamin A cassava cuttings that are very expensive in the open market"
Chief (Mrs) Arinola Aderibigbe, the leader, Association of Women in Agriculture, Oyo state said that the cuttings are too dried and already rotten for planting as she condemned the late approval for the distribution by FMARD.
Aderibigbe lamented over government attitude on always not being timely in response to agricultural activities in terms of plantings and other agronomics processes, saying she would not off take any of the cuttings because they will not give any good yield.
The women leader queried how Nigeria can be food secured when Government is fond of not timely keeping her side of promises especially
when a training has been conducted, and cuttings that are supposed to be given as starter packs to farmers are denied due to non approval at the nip of time.
She expressed cost implications of bringing a vehicle that would go back empty, saying that " can you see the suffering of farmers, I came here with a hired vehicle of twenty thousand naira, and going back with nothing.This is another production cost caused by Government to farmers. I will not advise any farmer to take any of the cuttings because they will not bring good yield. Again,this is a huge waste of money on the part of Government because vitamin A cassava cuttings are far more very expensive than just any variety because it has an enhanced vitamin A nutrient that is good for children and adults medicinally"
Messages sent to hear from the appropriate quarters about what must have caused the delay did not receive response until the time of publishing this story even as the cuttings are still lying waste as at yesterday July 6, 2023.
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