By AgroNigeria
The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has called on the Federal Government to ensure adequate provision of palliatives to ease this year’s farming season.
According to the group, the demand was necessary in order to repress the threatening food crisis, resulting from the spread of COVID-19 which has forced nations on lockdown.
Vice President of AFAN, Daniel Okafor, made the charge to the government during a chat with Vanguard News .
Okafor said, “It will be wise if agricultural inputs are one of the mandatory palliatives to farmers, including quality seeds, fertilizers, access to finance, soft loans, extension services, mechanisation, technology, and others.
“The All Farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN, knows the implication of threatening looming food crisis in the country, which the association has alerted the government including the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), has called on governments in Africa to move fast to avert food crisis in the continent as they contain the spread of COVID-19 if not it will further worsen the economic downturn most African countries find themselves.
“The only way to avert the looming food crisis in the country to give farmers agricultural palliatives on time because the raining season has already set in.”
In his remarks, there is need for a synergy efforts between AFAN and the government in order to get the agricultural palliatives across to the farmers.
He also demanded the inclusion of smallholder farmers in the categories of beneficiaries of government and corporate bodies-distributed palliatives.
Following the global crash in the prices of crude oil, countries have now turned to other sectors like agriculture, to sustain the economy.
Okafor recognised this as one of the factors responsible for the crucial need to diversify the economy and revitalise the agricultural sector.
“It will be a welcome development if such is considered as we all know that for Nigeria to be food secured and as well attain zero hunger, the earlier the government and Nigerians delve into agriculture because Nigerians will not drink crude oil and smoke gas.
“We as a country have no choice other than focus on massive production. So we advise that government at all levels should expand their agricultural programmes and ensure enough financial resources and other needed input in order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for food availability and affordability that would also lead to massive creation of jobs and wealth creation,” he said.