Agriculture

STAKEHOLDERS in agriculture in the South-East have proferred long-term solutions to the perennial deficits in the nation’s strategic food reserves.

A cross-section of the people, who spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), identified insecurity and knowledge gap as the major challenges that should be urgently addressed.

In Enugu, respondents say the onus lies on the Federal Government to take drastic measures to end the lingering farmers-herders clashes in agrarian communities in different parts of the country.

They further argued that the nation had the capacity to produce suffient food to feed its citizens all-year-round but hinged the deficit on huge post-harvest losses.

They also called for Federal Government’s deliberate policy that could sufficiently address the knowledge gap on how to permanently checkmate the post-harvest losses and boost the nation’s strategic food reserves.

A renowned farmer, Mr Vincent Akama, said that post-harvest losses could be checked, if farmers could be taught the best agronomy practices, including the cultivation of pest-resistant seedlings.

According to Akama, the good agronomy practices will teach farmers to plant more of organic crops, in addition to the ways to preserve the farm produce in the best post-harvest method, without depending on harmful chemicals.

Also, a farmer and produce marketer in Enugu, Mr Innocent Nweke, urged government at all levels to encourage produce off-takers with loans to ensure that they buy off produce from rural farmers to avoid post-harvest losses arising from poor sales.

“Produce off-takers should be supported to own trucks that will go into the hinterlands to collect farm produce and pay farmers reasonably to sustain their farming business,” Nweke said.

Mr Eddy Ugwu, a senior official of the Enugu State Ministry of Agriculture, opined that insecurity remained the bane of the nation’s perennial food crisis.

Ugwu, also a practicing farmer, said that many farmers were now scared to either go to cultivate or harvest at the end of the farming season due to the incessant farmers-herders clashes.

He argued that the delays in going to harvest in due season because of the activities of herders in rural communities leave the produce to perish.

He said: “I believe if the issue of insecurity is dealt with, the post-harvest losses will definitely reduce.

“Again, more people will go into farming, if only to feed their immediate families, following the high cost of food items in the market.”

In Abia, some stakeholders urged State Governments to build silos in Local Government Areas to adequately address the issue of post-harvest losses, which has become an annual experience.

They said that the initiative would help to strengthen Federal Government’s efforts to boost food security in the country.

The Southeast Coordinator of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Chief Dunlop Okoro, said that food reserves play a vital role in preventing food shortage in every economy.

Okoro said that the war between Ukraine and Russia had affected the supply of grains across the world, adding that the Federal Government should intensify efforts to boost its food reserves.

“State Governments can target to have their own food reserves in every local government area.

“The Federal Government can also assist by having its own food reserves built across the states of the federation.

“There should also be some intervention to boost agriculture for increased production of food for the reserves,” he said.

Okoro further advised the government to create a fool proof system that would ensure its intervention in agriculture is safely delivered to the real farmers.

He said that having strategic food reserves across the country required an all-inclusive effort by all the statekeholders.

Another farmer, Mr Charles Agbara, said that building strategic food reserves in the hinterlands would be more beneficial, given that they would be more accessible to farmers.

Agbara proposed that the facilities, when built, should be handed over to Farmers’ Cooperative Societies to manage in the rural areas, especially to source for farm produce for the food reserves

Another farmer, Mr Imeremba Imeremba, said that the amount of loss recorded during post-harvest season was enormous and could be prevented “if the government builds food reserves in every locality”.

Imeremba said that it was essential for the government to set up an off-taking mechanism to ensure that such food reserves would be deployed to their full capacity.

Also, stakeholders in Imo called on the Federal Government to provide more farm inputs for farmers to help boost food production.

The state Chairman of AFAN, Dr Vitus Enwerem, said that Nigeria’s strategic food reserves were largely depleted during the COVID-19 pandemic, hence the need to restock them against the rainy day.

According to Enwerem, inputs, such as fertilizer, chemicals and seeds, when made available, would enhance food production for consumption and storage.

He said: “Farmers need farm inputs to meet the increasing demand in food for both consumption and storage.

“During the pandemic, when farmers could no longer go to their farms, we fell back to our reserves.

“If anything happens now that would require going to our reserves, there will be catastrophe because the reserves have yet to be replenished.

“Imo received six trailer loads of grains during the pandemic, other states received theirs too, so there is need to restock what had been used up.

“Food stuffs are expensive and farmers need assistance to boost production for consumption and strategic storage.”

In Ebonyi, stakeholders in the agricultural sector underscored the need for the Federal and State Governments to upgrade the silos in states to beef up food reserves in the country.

They said that making the silos more functional would go a long way in minimising post-harvest losses of farm produce.

They also recommended the establishment of farm settlements and possible ways to encourage local storage among rural farmers.

Mr Jonah Eke said there was a need for government to create an enabling environment to grow modern agriculture practices in the country.

Eke said that modern farms should have regular power, water and other social amenities.

He also said that there should be government intervention for prospective farmers to acquire farmlands with ease.

He further called for the provision of irrigation system for an all-season farming to guarantee food sufficiency.

He also advocated for the provision of improved seedlings, loans, fertilisers and other agro-allied inputs.

Mrs Apolonia Aligwe advised that existing agricultural facilities should be regularly maintained for optimal performance.

“Modern farming techniques should be installed to effectively preserve seedlings, crops and farm produce,” Aligwe said.

Mr Magnus Nwedu also advised government at all levels to set up supervisory and monitoring units to take charge of the food reserves in the country.

In Anambra, the story about post-harvest losses in farm produce was positively different.

A NAN investigation showed that the state recorded minimal losses due to the prevailing value chain on rice and cassava.

The state also has a deliberate policy in place for the engagement of off-takers in farm produce.

The development makes it imperative for government to provide more storage tanks to meet the need of farmers.

Mr Chidozie Obi, Head of Engineering Department, Ministry of Agriculture, said that more tractors, silos and irrigation system were needed to encourage bumper harvest at the end of the farming season.

“The only silo built by the Federal Government is being managed by Coscharis Farms.

“The state has been recording less post-harvest losses so far due to our approach in the engagement of off-takers,” Obi said.

He also said that the State Government would soon set up coconut and palm oil industries, as part of its policy on industrialisation in the agricultural sector.

Mr Chris Okoli, the Programme Manager of Sasakawa Global, and agro-allied company, called on farmers to turn to organic fertilizers for better yields rather than the inorganic fertilizers.

“The truth is that for our post-harvest crops to enhance our bodies and be accepted internationally, we should cultivate our crops with organic fertilizers.

“We teach farmers the way to practice regenerative agriculture, nutritional sensitive agriculture and market- oriented agriculture, which makes post-harvest produce waste minimal,” Okoli said. (NAN

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Tags: Charles Agbara Dunlop Okoro Eddy Ugwu Vincent Akama