Rep urges patience, assures suffering will reduce next year

Amid growing hardship and insecurity, farmers have called on the Federal Government to provide subsidies and implement policies to help them achieve food security.

However, Deputy Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Environment, Terseer Ugbor, appealed to Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Tinubu’s government, assuring that the hardship will subside by 2025.

President of the Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria (POFAN), Daniel Okafor, who made the appeal during the yearly stakeholders’ forum and farmers’ workshop in Abuja, yesterday, urged government to support them in every possible way to address the hardships and insecurity challenges facing smallholder farmers, which affected communities.

He pointed out that governments in most developed countries with food sufficiency, provide subsidies for farmers to enable them sell food at an affordable price.

On market and economic trends, he added, “A bag of fertiliser costs N46,000, and this high production cost hinders progress in food production. Other factors that affect price of food include transportation, fuel prices and exchange rate. The government should be held responsible for policies they are not effectively implementing.

“We want the government to take this matter seriously and address the suffering of Nigerian farmers, especially at the local level,” he said.

Okafor emphasised the urgency of government grants for farmers, saying, “The rural communities are suffering. The farmers in this country need grants.

“We have submitted proposals to government agencies, yet no response. The only way this country will thrive is by doing the right thing.”

Former Vice-Chancellor of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof Vincent Tenebe, noted that crop production relies on soil fertility, adding: “When the soil is well-fertilised, crops yield better, securing food production. High-yield crops enable farmers to thrive, ensuring food security.”

The professor of Agriculture urged farmers to plan their activities and use adequate fertilisers for crop production. “High production costs force farmers to raise prices to recover their expenses. If the government provides subsidies, food prices can be affordable,” he said.

STRESSING that Nigerians have no option than to remain patient, the lawmaker representing Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency of Benue State urged young people to get active and productive to be self-reliant and sustainable.

Ugbor made the appeal, yesterday, in Abuja while speaking to newsmen during the public presentation of his book, Recycling in Nigeria: How to Start and Run a Successful Recycling Business.

He assured Nigerians that the National Assembly was providing support to the presidency and the executive arm of government to make sure that every legislation necessary for economic prosperity was given adequate attention.

“I will try to encourage Nigerians to be patient with the government. What other choice do we have, if we pull the country down and set it on fire? So, we want peace for Nigeria. We want economic prosperity for our people,” he said.