The Federal Government has set up a tripartite committee to find a lasting solution to series of losses farmers incur during road crashes when transporting farm produce from across the country.
The committee, which comprises the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), Nigeria Association of Agricultural Product Dealers (NAAPD) and Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), is expected to work under a scheme, National Transit Insurance Scheme (NATIS).
The Managing Director of NAIC, Mrs Folashade Joseph, who addressed journalists after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the parties involved, said all farmers and their products in the 774 local government areas across the federation would be insured against any loss before transporting them to various markets on road.
“NASIT is the National Transit Insurance Scheme and it has to do with agricultural products that move on the road from one state to another. These products need to be insured. We all know why it needs to be insured,” she said.
She said losses of agricultural products on roads was threatening food sustainability, hence the reason for the urgent and practical step to set up the committee.
The Secretary, Board of Trustees of NAAPD, Kingsley Chikezie, attributed majority of the crashes to road blocks mounted by security agents, urging President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on them to reduce the road blocks in other parts of the country, having removed 98 between Sokoto and Calabar.
In his remarks, ALGON representative, Salau Nuhu Ozigi, advised farmers at the grassroots to approach their local governments for details on insurance of their products before any loss.
