Farmers in Rivers State have expressed their displeasure with some laws that they described as a ploy to generate more revenue for the government to their detriment.
The farmers under the aegis of the Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria, Rivers State Branch said the Land Use Act of 1978 has done more harm to farmers than good.
Speaking through one of its executive members, Barr. Dan Oguowere, the association said farmers are finding it difficult to access lands for farming because of stamp duty payment, registration fees and development levies.
The association said: “It is time for the government to discourage peasant farming by showing more interest in mechanised farming.”
“We need some waivers from the government to enable us to make progress in farming business,” the association added.
It also called on the government to give either grants or loans to farmers so that they could acquire from 1,000 plots of land and above, insisting that good monitoring system should be put in place to ensure that such funds are not diverted by special interests.
