Maize farmers in Igbeti, Oyo State, are pleading with the Federal Government to compel states and local governments to assist them in increasing their output. OLUWAKEMI DAUDA reports. 

Maize farmers have de-cried the atti-tude of some local government chairmen to the food crisis and poverty in Nigeria. 
The chairman of Aiyelokun Farms, Igbeti, Oyo State, Mr Solomon Onitilo, urged them to tackle the food crisis now. 

Lamenting the level of poverty, Onitilo said: "It is sad that many of our local government chairmen can’t embrace agriculture the way Governor Bukola Saraki is doing in Kwara State. 

"The food crisis is avoidable if at the local government level, we do the right things at the right time. How many of the old farmers in the village are receiving attention from the local council, talk less of assisting young graduates? 

"The country is just wasting our God-given resources. If other countries have one-tenth of our land, they will feed the whole of Africa, if not the world. 

"Majority of our local government chairmen, supervisors and councillors are not interested in agriculture. The problem has become more complicated when the state and federal governments are not giving them the marching order based on a sound national policy on food production. Many of our youths are not interested in agriculture because of the abject poverty they have subjected our fathers and mothers to in the village. 

"Take for instance, despite all the noise about agriculture revolution during the last administration, a bag of maize now costs as much as N14,000 in the village and N16,000 in the cities. Where is the sincerity of our leaders? 

"Over 75 per cent of the population now live below the poverty line of one dollar per day with the declining standard of life of many Nigerians. 

"Therefore, it is important for this administration to address the issue of hunger, poverty and unemployment before the end this year," he said. 

Onitilo decried government’s dependence on oil revenue at the expense of agriculture. 

He said that the country must channel more foreign revenue to agriculture to boost its economy and provide jobs. 

"Non-availability of credit is a big problem for agricultural commercialisation. Most farmers often find it difficult to produce loan collaterals. Thus, they resort to village-level money lenders whose high interest rates eat up the bulk of the profit due to farmers. 

"Even the banks are not helping matters. Majority of them are shylocks. They are less concerned about the situation of the country, hence the reason they are not willing to give loans to graduates of agriculture to establish modern farms across the country. 

"Indonesia earns its biggest revenue from agriculture. But Nigeria’s three tiers of governments have neglected agriculture, hence, the reason why our people are now finding it difficult to eat thrice daily. Almost 16 months in office, I see no reason why President Yar’Adua cannot focus on agriculture; I see no reason why it is still difficult for our country to be self-reliant. 

"If the three tiers of government are genuinely concerned about the performance of farmers to boost food production and exportation, it is time to give them support to boost their morale and check the food crisis", Onitilo said 

A maize farmer, Mr Rasaq Badmus, said there is the need for the federal, state and local governments to encourage farmers through provision of irrigation, loans, subsidies on chemicals, improvisers and the acquisition of tools and farm equipment to enhance the shift from subsistence to mechanised farming. 

"The truth is that majority of us are in subsistence farming. The role of government in adequate food production, poverty alleviation and agriculture generally cannot be neglected. Although the policy thrust of this administration includes emphasis on agriculture and development to consolidate existing initiatives in ensuring food security and export possibilities, we believe that the village farmers, must get priority attention of the government on agriculture, so that more food could be produced. The prices of maize, yam, gari and meat showed that all is not well with agriculture. 

"Therefore, it would continue to be very difficult for farmers to increase their low level of food production as most of them are into subsistence. What becomes of majority of our people amid economic depression? A hungry man, they say, is an angry man", he said. 

Noting that mechanised farming is capital-intensive, the farmers urged the Federal Government to compel state and local governments to devote appreciable proportion of their budgets to boost food production. 

Speaking on inflation, Alhaja Medinat Maruf, urged the government to find ways of reducing the soaring prices of food items. 

She said: "The three tiers of government must buy and store produce to alleviate scarcity. To stop the high cost of food items especially during Ramadan and beyond, governments must invest in agriculture through the acquisition of storage facilities and make same available to farmers. 
"Lack of this essential equipment had been one of the major obstacles to the development of agriculture. Farmers are being compelled to sell their products at cheap prices to traders immediately after a harvest. This had been referred to as a singular factor responsible for the poverty of farmers and the high cost of food items. Even those of us that are engaging in produce business are sometimes risking our money because we don’t have access to storage facilities," she said.

From The Nation (September 12, 2008)