THE FAILED PROMISE OF FMARD-PACE, SHY-FACED/REGRETTED ENUMERATORS AND THE DUSTED-EYED POOR FARMERS.

By Abubakar Umar Gbs
24th August, 2021

If you haven't forgotten, the presidency approved and released the sum of 600b for disbursement to farmers more than a year ago.

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) unveiled the Agriculture for Food and Jobs Plan (AFJP) in JUNE 2020 to capture farmers/farm data through the FMARD-PACE enumerators who were promised of N500 per enumeration and the subsidies to be given to farmers in according to farm size/product quantity of farm products of the farmer in terms of interest-free loan plus free inputs.

The enumerators tried their best, the best they can to help their fellow community members, captured, captured, recaptured farmers, but the promise was not fully fulfilled.... They are either paid half or none. Some solely continued, some stopped (including me) as it proved waste of time to a number of enumerators.

Later The same enumerators were informed of their possible appointment as agricultural extension workers, the matter swept and covered under the huge carpet. Their hopes were diminished... They abandoned their farms, other things to serve their country as enumerators but they were failed.

The farmers are left with hope for more than a year without any positive outcome despite the fact that some of them received messages of their successful selection. They have been assured of fertilizer subsidies, interest-free loan... Which are still in their mind and still hoping.

The enumerators are always on hide... Farmers will be asking the enumerators of the authenticity of the program... The enumerators become untrusted on the eyes of most farmers because of the FMARD-PACE's dilemma.

Imagine, the poor farmers who are desperately in need of financial or farming materials/inputs are left with hope. Some of which aren't even able to buy a mudu of fertilizer, some who can't even afford to pay a single farm labourer to work in their farms as most depend on their family as source of labour.

They were advised to open bank accounts, they did. Advised to enroll for BVN, they did. Advised to link their BVN, they did, shortlisted, but no single farmer received a single Kobo or a piece/unit of fertilizer or even seed.

The blame is now on the heads of FMARD-PACE enumerators instead of the class owners, the FMARD-PACE. The FMARD-PACE has become an an object of mouth discussion and untrusted on the eyes of most farmers, so the enumerators (who have the 90% share of the blame)

Some (or most) of the enumerators regret their involvement/enlistment as enumerators of the ministry that can't follow a promised direction, but a bank of mouth-say.

As I am writing this, no single farmer has received anything from the ministry and it's a year and three (3) months already since the promise was made to the enumerators and the poor farmers. The enumerators who sacrificed their time, data and other resources for the sake of their fatherland and the farmers who are trying their best to feed their fatherland and themselves are left with their mouth dusted and their eyes dusted. There plans diminished.

The farmers (dry season farms) were harvested for the second time, others (rainy season farms) are about to be harvested for the second time since the beginning of the enumeration.

Agriculture which is said to be the most important of all sectors is now being kicked from side-to-side in the air by the ministry that was given the responsibility of the sector on it's both palms.

I am calling all concerned to speedily do the best they can to fulfill the promise and the hope they have put into the head of the farmers. Which I think has become a RIGHT since it was promised.

By Abubakar Umar Gbs
Concerned citizen
08163022584 (SMS/WhatsApp Only)
abubakargbs@gmail.com
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