AFAN to Provide Farmers 500,000 Tricycles for Easy Transportation of Farm Produce
The President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Farouk Mudi, has disclosed plans by the association and its Nigerian partner to provide 500,000 units of tricycles for farmers to ease the transportation of farm produce.
According to him, the development would create direct and indirect employment for more than two million members of the association.
Mudi spoke when he and some representatives of a Nigerian company and their South Korean counterparts visited the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mustapha Shehuri in Abuja.
“This will empower youths and farmers to reduce stress and cost of transportation of produce and in turn reduce the cost of food items,’’ he stated.
Furthermore, Mudi said the Nigerian company partner would establish assembly plants in the six geopolitical zones in the country to create employment opportunities for Nigeria’s teeming youths.
On his part, Shehuri said the use of tricycles would ease the difficulties faced by smallholder farmers in the transportation of their produce.
According to him, the use of tricycles would ensure easy movement of food and agro-allied products and generate wealth for Nigerian farmers. The minister said the Nigerian agricultural sector has huge potential to drive the country’s economy, noting that the Nigerian market is massive across value chains and the use of tricycles will help Nigeria in food distribution, food sufficiency and export of agricultural products.
He urged AFAN and the other visitors to ensure that the tricycles on offer match the requirements of the smallholder farmer. “There is no point bringing in tricycles without input by the end-users; please, the smallholder farmers must have Inputs for the initiative to achieve its objectives and goals,’’ Shehuri said.
Furthermore, the minister urged the association to ensure that there was a synergy between the federal, state and local governments in carrying out its programmes.
“There should be a robust collaboration between the three tiers of government and AFAN because all the relevant stakeholders must streamline policies and programmes to achieve food and nutrition security and boost the economy,’’ he added.
Agro Nigeria
