As the rainy season sets in, rural farmers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have condemned the delay by the FCT Administration to make subsidised inputs available to farmers, especially those in the rural communities.
Cross section of the farmers, who spoke with Abuja Metro at the rural communities, said some of them had started planting maize and melon without access to improved seeds.
Abuja Metro reports that most of the farmers at the local communities often make use of traditional seeds on an annual basis, the situation, which experts in the sector said had been the major causes of poor harvest.
The farmers also said the cost of fertilizer is now beyond their reach, and that there had not been major signs from the FCT Administration for a possible support this year.
The farmers said last year, few of them that benefited from the government’s subsidized inputs got it late, with no much impact on their produce.
A farmer in Dobi community of Gwagwalada Area Council, Ahmadu Usman, said he had cleared three hectares of land to commence cultivation, but said access to improved seeds had been a major challenge.
He said he made several attempts to reach out to the agric department of the council to see how he could access inputs such as seedlings, sprayers, agro -chemicals, fertiliser and tractor, but to no avail.
He said he could no longer wait and had to reach out to his customer in Suleja, Niger state to purchase the little he could afford to give him on credit to enable him commence cultivation of his farm.
Usman, who said he was into cultivation of yam and Guinea corn in large quantities, also said he had to hire a tractor from Lambata in Niger State to commence cultivation of guinea corn farm since the rainy season has commenced.
He noted that 85 per cent of the rural dwellers in various communities in Dobi ward are peasant farmers, but many of them have not been accessing farm inputs from the FCTA for long.
Another farmer in the Dafara community in Kuje Area Council, Bamayi Markus, also expressed concern over lack of access to farm inputs to enable them commence cultivation.
He said lack of inputs such fertiliser, agro -chemicals, sprayers and seedlings has been the major challenge in the community.
The farmers said he had engaged the service of some labourers to start cultivation of his farm land in order for him to plant Guinea corn and Benin seeds, saying he has to go to a market in Kuje to buy some of the seedlings at exorbitant rate.
Another farmer in Riwaza community in Kwali Area Council, Dantani Gwatana, said farmers in the area were also facing the challenge of lack of access to farm inputs.
He said most farmers in the community have cleared their land to commence cultivation but they have no access to government tractors and other farm inputs such as fertiliser, agro -chemicals, sprayers and seedlings.
He said majority of the farmers in the community adopt local methods of farming through the use of hoes to cultivate their fadama land and plant rice as they cannot afford to hire a tractor.
Also, a farmer in Zukpatu community of Kuje area council, Ibrahim Aduga, said most of the farmers in the community, always depend on local farming as they hardly have access to government tractors to cultivate their farms.
He said farmers also find it difficult to access inputs, especially seedlings and fertilizer, saying farmers mostly go to buy fertiliser at black market in Kuje or Gwagwalada at higher prices.
The chief of farmers (Sarkin Noma) of Abaji area council, Alhaji Muhammadu Dangana, who also spoke with our reporter, said failure to give priority to boost farming activities by the government had always been a continuous challenge facing the rural farmers in the council.
He said the majority of the rural farmers mostly depend on buying their inputs from the market every year, which according to him may be less in quality or add to the cost of production.
He said even when the government provides the inputs, the middlemen often hijack them at the detriment of the local farmers.
Also speaking, the chairman of Abaji Area Council chapter of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Abdulkadir Alhassan, said it was unfortunate that the government had continued to pay lip service to agriculture sectors over the years.
He said the majority of the rural farmers, who are into cultivation of varieties of crops were more at disadvantage especially in the area of accessing farm inputs, saying most of the local farmers get their inputs from the market at higher price.
He said such a move had clearly shown lack of seriousness on the part of the government to prioritise agriculture, even as he urged the government to commence a move towards providing farm inputs to the rural farmers since the rainy season has already set in.
Also, the chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) in the FCT, Alhaji Abubakar Dahiru Zuba, said lack of access to farm inputs by rural farmers in the FCT has always been a major challenge for them, especially the rice farmers.
He said most of the rice farmers in many rural communities find it difficult to access farm inputs, especially fertiliser, agro -chemicals, sprayers and tractors.
He said only few of the rice farmers travel to neighboring villages in Niger or Nasarawa states to hire tractors to cultivate their fadama farms.
He said, “Although, sometimes there are supports from the FCT Fadama office but only few of the farmers get the inputs and they must belong to farmers’ group or association but majority of the rice farmers go to the market to buy seedlings and fertiliser at higher price.’’
He, therefore, called on the government to expedite action to commence early distribution of inputs to the farmers since the rainy season has already commenced in order to enhance a bumper harvest.
FCTA assures of intervention
Meanwhile, the Mandate Secretary, FCT Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, Mr Abdullahi Ango, has assured of timely intervention for farming activities this year.
He gave the assurance after a week-long meeting with directors, heads of projects and specialised units.
Ango said he would lead a facility tour across the area councils, which would provide the needed platform to engage with farmers, stakeholders and development partners.
This, according to him, will fast-track implementation of agricultural programmes in the FCT.
Ango, who was deployed to the secretariat from the Youths Development Secretariat, also said that efforts were ongoing to ensure that farmers received seeds, fertilisers, and other equipment before the rainy season.
He emphasised the need to equip Agricultural Extension Agents with tools and training, as well as boosting public-private partnerships to attract agribusiness investments in the FCT.
He called on the members of staff to rededicate themselves to service to humanity and FCT residents in particular.
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