Some smallholder farmers in Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State are seeking government’s timely intervention to ensure food production for the 2021 planting season.
They stated this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recently.
A smallholder farmer, Mrs Alimotu Sulaiman, from Iseyin Local Government Area (LGA) of Oyo State said for there to be food production in 2021, the government needed to provide support for farmers now.
She noted that those who had benefited from the various interventions and programmes of the government are not real farmers but politicians.
“We kept getting promises from those who pledged to support farmers but it amounted to nothing till the rainfall stopped and the planting season ended in 2020.
“We don’t want the same thing to happen in this planting season as there is still time to help the farmers now,” Sulaiman said.
Another Smallholder farmer in Saki East LGA, Mr Tade Ogundipe said whatever help and support the government wants to give to the farmers should be done now.
“After the end of April any support given to farmers is a waste and a total failure for the planting season.
“Timely intervention is what the farmers need to ensure continuous food production.
“Giving farmers seedlings, fertilisers and so on when the rain has started is a waste, as these things are needed before the commencement of rain.
“Many people had received such in the past after the rainfall had started, do nothing about the seedlings they received because they came at the wrong time and so they are not useful for the planting season,” Ogundipe said.
Also, Mrs Musilatu Ashiru from Saki East LGA said “We know that this present administration has a lot of support to give to farmers and we are praying that we also would be beneficiary of the support programmes in any form it would take.
“That done would add to the notable feats achieved by the government for farmers and efforts at ensuring food sufficiency.”
Oyo smallholder farmers seek government’s timely intervention for new planting season
