Brave Dickson
Some farmers in Rivers State said they are losing courage in farm business because of bandits and flooding.
The farmers under the aegis of the Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria (POFAN), Rivers State Chapter, said after farmers have sold their farm produce, they end up being robbed by bandits.
The Rivers State Chairman of the Association, Mr Felix Emea who disclosed this to our correspondent said that until the issues of insecurity and flooding were addressed, the nation cannot get it right on agriculture.
The state POFAN chairman said, “Insecurity is a complex problem that is affecting agriculture because farmlands are largely located in the hinterlands and the access roads to these places are under challenge.
“Insecurity has made it difficult for our farmers to access their farms as bandits often times rob farm traders who had gone to sell their farm produce.
“On flooding, our laws are no longer implemented as they should have.
Before this time, there were rainfalls, yet no flooding. Why flooding now? It shows that there are some problems we have caused to our natural environments all in the name of development. Flooding affects agriculture largely because you can’t plant crops in the water.”
Mr Emea therefore used the medium to call for the quick intervention of government at all levels as well as relevant stakeholders in the interest of food sufficiency in the country especially in Rivers State.
He advised that, “Governments should really intervene with modern technology to tackle this flood problem. Governments should avoid giving drainage contracts to those who will not do good job. Everybody should also help governments to tackle flooding because the environments are for everyone.”
While fielding questions on Wike’s quest to prioritize security and agriculture in his 2nd term in office,
Mr Emea expressed confidence in the ability of the state governor to match words with his actions.
Governor Wike in his 2nd term inauguration speech was quoted as saying, “for too long, we have relied mostly on a single vanishing revenue source. The reality is that we cannot continue in this lest we remain forever vulnerable to the uncertainties and miseries of the mono-product based national economy.
“Apart from oil and gas, Rivers State also has a vast agricultural potential, which has remained largely untapped for decades. For us, therefore, it is about time we embrace the green revolution as a strategic measure for achieving economic diversification, job creation and food security for the State and our people, and we are just ready to do that.
“Our role in this regard will span from granting interest free loans to providing training, land preparation and logistical support to our willing youths to invest in commercial agriculture and allied businesses.”
Mr Emea maintained as thus, “we trust Governor Nyesom Wike’s 2nd term inauguration promise to prioritize agriculture. We don’t doubt him because he has said several things and he did them. Why we are happy about the governor’s pronouncement is that it will have a positive effect on the economy when matched with actions.
“We therefore advise governor Wike to identify real farmers in the state and work with them to achieve progress.”
Meanwhile, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has identified the limited use of improved technology as a major reason for low agricultural productivity across Africa.
The AfDB Director for Agriculture and Agro-Industry had at a summit said, “over 60 percent of the continent’s land has irrigation potential, yet only five percent of it is under irrigation.
“It will be impossible for Africa to be competitive while its farmers are still spending too much time tilling acres of land manually. We cannot feed Africa with this kind of agriculture. We must mechanize. Mechanization of agriculture is imperative. Let us do what we can to push this agenda.”
