By Mercy Omoike
An agriculture expert, Mr Oluwashola Johnson, has reiterated the need for an enabling environment beyond funding for the growth and development of the agriculture sector.
Johnson, a fellow at the Lagos state Agro Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS Project) said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.
The expert noted that providing an enabling environment for farmers to thrive was more important than funding alone.
He said interventions were not enough to stabilise the sector without an enabling environment.
“We do not just want to provide intervention for local farmers, we want to create enable environment for their farms to thrive.
“It is not just about financing farmers for us but also training and building capacity for local farmers in poultry, aquaculture and rice which are our major areas of concerns.
“We are sponsoring infrastructure development, road construction to create access between the farmers and their markets.
“In cases where we cannot link farmers to off-takers for their goods, we help them to add value to their produce, like we did for the poultry sector in setting up an egg-powder production factory in Lagos,” the expert told NAN.
Johnson stressed the need for farmers welfare for growth and development of the sector.
“We are interested in the welfare of the farmers, their target markets and also encourage farmers to take up insurance in case of disasters.
“For instance, when some poultry farmers had issues with bird flu, the insurance they took up helped them in such cases.
“If crop farmers who had their farms washed away due to the floods, had insurances they will not be so hit by the impact of the floods.
“Farmers are used to some practices that are unconventional that does not allow our agro-produce to be accepted in international markets.
“They must desist from these practices to ensure growth and productivity of the agriculture sector,” Johnson said. (NAN)
