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The All Farmers Association of Nigeria has called on the Bayelsa State government and the Niger Delta Development Commission to do more to support practising farmers in Bayelsa State to successfully tackle the issue of food security.
Second Deputy President of AFAN, Mr Confidence Mac-Eteli, made the call on Tuesday in Yenagoa, while highlighting the challenges facing farmers and the development of agribusiness in Bayelsa State.
Mac-Eteli, who is also the
CEO/Managing Director of Bayelsa Agro Commodities Investment Limited said that there has been much talk without action, which does not bode well for the development of the agricultural sector in the state.
He said, “Farmers have not been receiving good support from the government agencies, even with the allocation of funding to these agencies and even the state government.
“The government used mouth and paper to declare agricultural revolution, saying we are doing this, we are doing that, but at the end of the day, we don’t have any result.”
Mac-Eteli said another major challenge confronting farmers in Bayelsa State is the perennial flooding, which ravages farmlands while the government continues to show a lack of interest in the losses of farmers over the years.
He pointed out that certain steps ought to be taken before, during and after the flood to mitigate farmers’ losses, but since the devastating flood, there has been nothing.
“I can tell you that even with the 2022 flood that came till date, no practising farmer will say, this is what I benefited from the state government, and it’s a sad one.”
He also took a swipe at the State Emergency Management Agency for not being forthcoming, noting that during the 2024 flood, a team comprising the National Emergency Management Agency, Red Cross and others visited the state for first-hand information on the flooding, but it could not reach the state coordinator of SEMA.
Mac-Eteli therefore urged Governor Douye Diri to “see how they can reorganise SEMA in Bayelsa and fund it, “to enable it to work to mitigate the effect of flooding in the state.”
He appreciated the NDDC for the training of 200 persons in livestock development and fishery among others, but pointed out that since 2020, the agency “has not supported any practising farmer and it is a sad one.”
He also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to make good his promise during the #Endhungerprotest to support agricultural development with fertilisers and provide equipment and incentives to cultivate 10 million hectares of land.
Acknowledging that states have received allocations of fertilisers, Mac-Eteli said he has not seen any sign of the tractors and other equipment President Tinubu promised, saying, “To cut a long story short, the Federal Government is not doing enough to support agriculture.”
On Governor Diri’s plans for agribusiness development, he said the government should have a master plan detailing short-term, medium-term and long-term strategies, as well as providing tools to assist practising farmers.
He said as part of his contribution to the growth of agriculture in the state, his group has developed a proposal which has been sent to the governor.
He added, “On our part, as advocates for successful agribusiness in Bayelsa, we have even gone ahead to develop a master plan for the state. And, we have sent it across to the governor and if he graciously looks into it, and works with it, I think it will really help to revolutionise agriculture in Bayelsa.”
Mac-Eteli also tasked the state government to stop demanding tariffs on agricultural goods coming into the state to reduce the cost of production while asking for taxes for agricultural goods and products leaving the state in order to promote agribusiness in the state.
