Silos
By Usman Aliyu
Ilorin, Dec 20, 2018 (NAN) The All Farmers Association (AFAN), has cautioned the Federal Government against the plan to privatise or the concession of Bank of Agriculture and silos to ensure food sufficiency.
Dr Tunde Arosanyin, the National Technical Adviser AFAN made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Ilorin.
Arosanyin said that the expectation of farmers was that government would create more storage centres across the 774 local government councils in the country, rather than sell the silos.
“Recently, we heard that the silos built by the previous administration were going into concession, sale or leasing by this government.
“We have thought otherwise that this government will spur food production and then mop the excess at the point of harvest at the minimum guarantee price to ensure that the farmers make profit and their investments in various farms.
“We expected government to even create additional storage centres in all the local governments as being advocated by the last administration and even incorporate the cold room system for the Fulanis herdsmen to store milk.
“This milk can be bought and stored there and the dairy people and companies can come and buy directly from these silos,” he said.
Arosanyin, who is a former chairman of AFAN in Kogi said such plan would amount to conflict of opinion within the robust policy aimed at addressing hunger.
“We felt that government should have been able to reactivate these silos and use it judiciously to ensure that farmers get more money.
“And during the increase in price of grains and commodities, government can release from these strategic silos to cushion the effect and reduce the burden to increase in food crisis for the average Nigerian to buy at affordable prices.’’
On the purported plan to sell Bank of Agriculture, the AFAN chief explained that the advocacy at the last National Council on Agriculture was that the bank should be recapitalised.
“It was advocated that Bank of Agriculture needs to be recapitalised; ditto the Bank of Industry because these two banks have critical roles to play if this country must move forward.
“The Bank of Agriculture is to interface in primary production to be able to give loans to rural farmers at a single digit interest rate. The bank presently is undercapitalised,” he said.
He, however, commended the Federal Government for cushioning the effect of the bird flu disaster that led to the destruction of millions of birds during the last administration.
“This government has been able to pay the remaining outstanding compensation to those who lost their birds that Federal Government destroyed,” said Arosanyin, who also is the national coordinator of Zero Hunger Commodity Farmers Association. (NAN)
AUO/GY
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Edited by Grace Yussuf