The Nigeria Farmer’s Group and Cooperative Society (NFGCS) has appealed for less bureaucracy in the implementation of government’s policies on agriculture.
The National Coordinator of the Group, Retson Tedheke, made the appeal yesterday while addressing newsmen after a tour of the group’s 1000 hectare farm in Gaati, along the Keffi-Akwanga road in Nasarawa State.
Tedheke identified challenges before Nigerian farmers as slow response of government agencies to farmers’ needs.
He said while expecting government agencies like the CBN to intervene in their farming activities, the group had decided to start ploughing and cultivating with the little resources available.
“If we wait for them, the season will come and go and as you know, farming depends on seasons and rains. For CBN to give money to commercial banks before giving it to farmers at cut-throat interest rates is a great disservice. What is wrong with the CBN coming to the farm site to inspect what is on ground, if they are satisfied, they can now go ahead and allocate resources based on what they have seen, instead of giving it to commercial banks?” he said.
He charged the CBN, through the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System For Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), to intervene in good time so that Nigeria can reduce the huge food import bills.
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