Chief Atsaga Anemba is the chairman of the Fruit Farmers Association in Benue State. He is also the chairman of the Farmers Initiative for Agricultural Development, Benue Valley. In this interview, he speaks on the advantages of farming oranges and challenges therein.
What are the opportunities in orange farming?
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There are several opportunities. First, orange farming provides the opportunity to grow fruit for human consumption; it is good for health. When it is produced in a very large quantity, it cannot be only for consumption but for market purposes such that it can be taken to the industries for processing. In the process, it will yield good revenue for the farmers to engage in other agricultural produce and other businesses and it is also a source of livelihood. That means orange farming can contribute to the establishment of cottage processing industries as well as create jobs and generate income for farmers.
As chairman of the Fruit Farmers Association in Benue State, what are you doing to expand the market for orange in the state?
I have tried so much to make sure we promote fruits farming in the state. For instance, I have approached some illustrious sons and daughters of the state, especially the ones within the areas of fruit farms to assist in setting up cottage industries in the state. But all efforts are to no avail. I have also tried approaching the government, but all efforts seem abortive, so we have resulted in tasking ourselves to raise funds and build industries in the state.
What are the major challenges bedeviling orange production?
Several factors have become a concern to orange production. Maintenance of the orchard is a major challenge. Once the orchard is in a very large quantity, the maintenance cost is usually a problem. I am talking in terms of acquiring agro inputs that are involved in the maintenance of our farms. It is usually a challenge. Even getting good avenues to market farm produce is also a problem, largely due to the fact that there are no industries.
What can the government do to improve orange production, especially in the state?
Primarily, we expect the government to provide industries for us, so that it will ease the suffering of our peasant fruit farmers in the state. By building industries, there will be no wastages of our oranges and it will provide employment opportunities for the youth, it will also take care of the issue of market avenues.
How many registered orange farmers are currently in the state?
The current data show that the total number of registered fruit farmers in Benue State is about 22,000. But fruit farmers in the state are more than that figure, just that some people have not officially registered with us. This figure is based on the already registered members only.
What are the future plans for the association to increase production of oranges that will feed the country?
The fruit farmers have been holding meetings such that they can task themselves and raise funds so that they can build industries within the orange-producing areas. Though it has been very difficult due to the economic situation of the state, plans are also in place to continue planting oranges, hoping that things would get better in the nearest future.
Measures are also being taken to designate agents across all the states of the federation to ease distribution of oranges and also source for market avenues in the process.
Presently, can you quantify, in monetary terms, the economic contributions of orange production to the development of Benue State?
For us farmers, it is through this business that we pay school fees for our children. The business also serves as a source of revenue generation for the youth. We pay taxes to the government through this orange business. Moreover, the orange farming boosts transportation business in the cause of moving it from our farms to the various markets. All of these contribute to developing the state.
Ushongo is said to be the home of citrus in the state; are there plans to build juice industry in the area to curb wastages?
There are plans underway to build juice industry in Ushongo Local Government Area in order to stop wastage. As I said earlier, orange farmers have resorted to tasking themselves instead of waiting for the government that already have a lots of responsibilities as well as other cooperate organisations.
What are the main varieties of orange available?
We have so many varieties of oranges in the state, which include Ibadan sweet oranges, Valencia sweet oranges, Washington oranges, California fresh oranges, tanjerine oranges, tanjero oranges, grape fruits, lemon oranges, lime and kings oranges.
What major advantages would individuals and the government derive from boosting orange production?
Boosting orange production will encourage employment opportunity, the government will be less burdened in terms of over dependence by her citizens. There will be increased payment of taxes to the government to boost internally generated revenue). There will be provision of employment opportunities for the teeming youth in the state. It will enable farmers take care of their personal needs and in the aspect of payment of children’s school fees. It will also provide financial support to the farmers for their up-keep and other endeavours.