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- Regrets post-harvest loss hits 60 percent
From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
Following the inability of some farmers to access farmlands as a result of ravaging insecurity, the Federal Government on Monday said it is considering leveraging mass farmland available in Nigerian higher institutions to boost food production.
Minister of State for Agriculture, Aliyu Abdullahi who stated this while featuring on Channels Television breakfast show also regretted that even in the face of food shortage, post-harvest loss was up to 60 percent in some areas.
According to him, universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and other higher institutions with vast arable lands have been contacted with positive feedback from them.
He said this became necessary to help President Bola Tinubu to deliver on his food security idea because he realised that without food security, other good deliverables of renewed administration may be difficult to come by.
He said, “this year, we are taking the issue of farmland data seriously and technology is going to help to do that.
“When you don’t know where the lands are when you don’t know the farmers, definitely and you say you want to support, ghost farmers, portfolio farmers, or those people that have access are the ones coming forward to claim the support.
“We realised very well that the government is pumping money into the sector but where is the money going? Is it going to the right people? So we don’t want to be caught in that web.
“We want to make sure that if we say we are going to plant 100,000 hectares of millet, let’s be sure we know where the land is. We are also working to remove the bad eggs among the farmers so that genuinely interested people will get government support.
“On post-harvest loss, right now, it is up to 60 percent in some areas. We are looking at how to increase the aspect of value addition to process some of these commodities because the moment that is done, it will reduce their spoilage.
“We hope that the national strategy food reserve programme (designed to modulate abundance farm produce and price stability) is being reviewed and we will also take advantage of that if there is surplus”, he noted.
On the shortage of extension service workers, he said, “it is not enough to have physical personnel that can deliver extension services.
“Technology is making life easier now. We are bringing in an ICT-enabled extension service leveraging a platform that will enable farmers to have access to the information they need to run their farming operations seamlessly.
“But at the same time, it is a mixed model because we are also encouraging the growth of extension agents and I think some states are already keying into that”, he added.
He however submitted that his ministry would ensure delivery of its mandate in line with laid down rules and regulations.
