We Need Access To Funds,
Equipments Not Phones,
Farmers Tell FG The plans by the Federal
Government to distribute
mobile phones to 10 million
farmers across the country,
has been criticized by the
potential beneficiaries who described it as a misplaced
priority. Rather than provide
them with phones, they say
access to funds is what is
needed instead. A member of the All Farmers
Association of Nigeria in
Delta State, Dr. John Akwara,
said phones do not appear on
the list of priorities of an
average Nigerian farmer. He said, “What we need are
funds not phones. We also
need to see some sincerity in
the people who are in the
ministry of agriculture
because they are fond of ‘cornering’ things meant for
farmers for their personal
use. “If government really wants
to help farmers, they should
help us with better access to
funds. Some of us need funds
to set up our farms and
others need funds to expand. Bank interest rates are too
high; average farmers can’t
get loans from banks. So,
government should make
sure we get these funds.” Akwara further blamed
politicians and civil servants
whom they alleged
‘hijacked’ government’s
intervention funds for the
sector. “All the money government
approves for agriculture does
not get to farmers. Politicians
and those in the ministry of
agriculture end up being the
beneficiaries. For example here in Delta State, they use
some funds approved for
farmers to empower political
thugs. They told them to
form a cooperative society
and once they did, the money was allocated to them in the
name of farmers,” he said. In her own reaction,
Managing Director of Duke’s
Farm, Ijebu-Ode, in Ogun
State, Mrs. Omotayo
Omotayo, the idea of giving
phones to farmers is unnecessary since most
farmers already own mobile
phones and have been using
them to connect with their
market. She said, “I don’t think
buying mobile phones for
farmers is important. There is
hardly any serious farmer
that does not have a phone
or a means of communicating with his or
her customers. “The idea doesn’t hold water
because, at least here in Ogun
State, we have the
Agricultural Development
Programme. They usually go
into the rural areas to educate farmers on new
farming techniques. So, I
don’t think farmers need to
receive such information on
mobile phones.” Omotayo, instead advised
government to buy farm
implements for farmers. According to another farmer,
Benjamin Samson, who is
also a member of the Catfish
Farmers Forum, government
should give out loans to
farmers instead. “Phones have become very
cheap. So, any farmer that
needs a phone can buy it.
What we want is for
government to give us
loans,” he said. Posted by daniel on January 13, 2013.
www.informationng.com/2013/01/we-need-access-to-funds-equipments-not-phones-farmers-tell-fg.html