Association Urges FG To Support Genuine Farmers

National President of Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria, POFAN, Mr Daniel Okafor, has urged the federal government to support genuine farmers and not political farmers.

Okafor said this at the end of the year get-together of the members of the association on Sunday in Abuja.

He said  that the event is aimed at taking a critical look at the 2023 agricultural scorecard and to deliberate on expectations of farmers  in 2024.

The federal government should profile all farmers in order to have a database of genuine farmers.

“All these people parading themselves as farmers policy and implementation makers are political farmers.

“They are not practising farmers.They don’t plant anything, and yet they highjack all the incentives provided by the federal government  for genuine  farmers.

“If government continues to patronise political farmers, they will continue to experience the same result, which is severe hunger in the country.

“Let them change their strategy, work with real farmers, and they will get results.

“I have seen the government sending some people abroad, spending our scarce  resources to buy seeds, when our own researchers can give them the same if properly funded.

“They should properly fund our research institutes, and they will get better results even cheaper than global-trotting in the name of getting seeds for farmers.

“I also call on the research institutes to carry farmers along because these farmers are in the best position to help them in the field trials and revert with honest results.” Okafor said.

The government at all levels should intensify efforts in tackling insecurity in the country to enhance food security.

“Many farmers have been deprived of access to their farmlands for fear of either being kidnapped for ransom or being attacked or killed by herders.” He added

He, however, promised his members a better 2024 farming season where most of the challenges of 2023 would have been improved.

“farmersy.”  Okafor said.

NAN/Shakirat Sadiq