Farmers cut farm sizes

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• Al furqan 9 years ago

  Agriculture in General is gradually declining at an alarming rate for lack of support from govt and the citizenry. Low incentives in the form of inputs and subsidies as well as low patronage for locally grown produce such as ...
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  Agriculture in General is gradually declining at an alarming rate for lack of support from govt and the citizenry. Low incentives in the form of inputs and subsidies as well as low patronage for locally grown produce such as rice do not motivate the farmer to increase his acreage or even convince potential farmers to venture into the industry.
  Governments over the years and NDC in particular have not done enough to make farming attractive; whereas agric is the single industry that can create the necessary jobs that we are yearning to provide the teaming youth who are desperately looking for jobs. Our politicians and policy makers seem to miss some very vital points and turn to pay attention to high risk ventures with huge capital outlay that could take several years to yield dividends. An investment into the production of tomatoes , , okra , pepper, watermelon,maize,soybeans, beans and rice takes about three of four months. Yet the govt has chosen to invest $1.5 billion into gas production. Whereas rice production could relieve govt of the stress to look for $500 million annually to supplement our rice requirements and the export of pepper,soybeans and okra could rake a similar amount with an estimated 250000 jobs to be created; our investment in the gas sector can hardly create 25000 jobs across the country. Indeed we have survived as a nation prior to the discovery of oil.
  As we speak today, farmers are crying for fertilizer and other inputs which are expensive and often made available after the farming season. This phenomenon is not attracting the attention of govt but the repercussions shall soon dawn on govt when it would have been late . Govt should braze itself against food shortage in 2015 because of lack of adequate and timely delivery of farming inputs and above all the erratic rainfall that is currently being experienced.
  My candid advice to my poor northern farmers is that they should not desperately sell their produce and go hungry because govt would not come up with any sustainable relief for them .

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