The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has appealed to the federal government to provide a minimum of one tractor and bulldozer for farmers in the 774 local government areas in the country to boost food production.

On Monday, Femi Oke, AFAN’s chairman in Lagos State, told journalists that former President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime’s tractor-hiring scheme only favoured farmers in politics and neglected smallholder farmers.

He described the Buhari regime’s tractor programme as a hoax because farmers did not regard it as assistance from the federal government.

“As regards the tractor policy of the immediate past government, it is nothing to write home about because the tractors did not go round at all,” Mr Oke said.

He added, “Many farmers cannot access the tractors because it was given to some political farmers.”

Mr Oke said providing farmers with the machinery would subsidise farming activities and achieve national food security.

“We want the federal government to provide at least a minimum of one tractor and bulldozer in each of the 774 local government areas in the country.

“By doing this, every farmer within the local government would have access to the machinery to assist crop farmers.”

The AFAN chairman noted that the new price of petrol affected all farmers in all sectors and called for urgent intervention as the price of all food commodities has increased.

“What we believe will have an immediate impact on farming activities is a subsidy on inputs and agric machinery for maize, rice, poultry, vegetable and fish farmers.

“We want the government to assist us in land clearing by giving each local government area bulldozers and tractors. The price of everything in the country has skyrocketed,” he said.

The chairman also urged the federal and state governments to employ and deploy more extension officers to various farm settlements to provide services to farmers.

According to him, extension officers guide farmers by providing the latest information on best agronomy practices.

“We don’t want to go on strike because people must eat, but we can only reduce what we produce, and that will bring hardship to the people, and we don’t want that,” said the AFAN leader. 

(NAN)