RIFAN has urged the federal government to channel agricultural interventions through farmers’ associations to ensure they reach genuine farmers and boost local rice production.
He added that local farmers need to create free passageways for water in their farms to prevent flooding.
He urged the government to ensure that farmers receive the provided inputs or machinery directly, instead of through “political farmers.”
Mr Hunsa urged rice farmers to be consistent in cultivation to increase production and meet growing demands.
The federal government temporarily waived import duties and value-added tax on rice and other essential food items to help curb food inflation.
They lamented that the development contributed to the persistent price hike and perceived unavailability of local rice in the country.
RIFAN vice president attributed the current hike in the price of rice to insecurity, the farmer-herder crisis, the hike in input and the rice boom.
On March 6, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and his Niger counterpart, Umar Bago, signed an agreement to produce and process food for Lagos.
Regarding the federal government’s grain distribution to citizens, RIFAN said the situation had gone beyond grain distribution.
“He performed woefully in terms of agriculture because there shouldn’t be ethnicity in government programmes and empowerments at the national level.”
