· Edo, Delta did something, but asked to do more
·Why northern farmers get federal support over south-south, east
By Ignatius Chukwu
Governors in the south-south have been accused of lethargy and lack of interest in boosting agric value chain by failing to interface with critical organizations that support agricultural projects and programmes.
This is as farmers and small scale business owners (SMEs) in the south-south and south-east who often accuse federal agencies and banks of favouring the north with agric loans and facilities have been told to ask their governors some questions.
The blame was passed back to the southern governors at a one-day workshop in Port Harcourt on Ginger value chain.
Participants had taken turn to talk about how farmers in the north get all the support for massive farming and production whereas those in the north hardly got any loans from banks or from any agency.
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) had organized the workshop at Juanita Hotel at Nzimiro area near the Old GRA area of the Garden City to help Ginger farmers in Rivers State with the theme: ‘Cultivation, Processing, and Packaging of Ginger and its Derivatives for Export’.
When the questions kept pelting the Rivers State head of Nigerian Incentive-based Risk Sharing system for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Mabel Douglas, she stood up and reacted thus; “People say the north gets more attention or all the loans, but it’s because the governors there show interest.’
Douglas went on: “They help the groups to meet the NIRSAL conditions for loans. They work with NIRSAL to get things done. But that’s not the same story in the south.”
She said: “We have been trying to get southern governors to partner with us, to no avail. It is only Edo State where the governor showed interest and they handled land clearing. NIRSAL does not give loans, banks do, but working with NIRSAL, you get the loans faster in the commercial banks.”
Giving insights into efforts made to get some states in the south-south to partner with NIRSAL and farm groups, the Rivers State chairman of the National Ginger Association of Nigeria (NGAN), a pastor, David Busari, who also is an executive member of the Isiokpo Rivers Value Chain, said they have done everything to get government’s support, but that they are yet to get response.
He said: “NIRSAL products require state government partnerships to activate by signing a Counterpart Funding Agreement (CFA). The moment that is done, a whole world of heaven is open for anything you want to do. When that is not there, it limits the take off.
“We have had meetings attended by acting permanent secretary of the Ministry of Agric; meeting with the permanent secretary for Hotel and Investment in Rivers State. We have been able to pass through those organs, we have been to the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) headquarters at Rukpokwu in Port Harcourt. We believe that they will be the ones to push to the state government to relay the message that some people have a robust plan to develop this product.”
Busari said his team has also gone to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to seek any partnership with NIRSAL and to show they have the capacity to do well in agric in the South-South. “WE are still pushing for that government support in Rivers State. It is not there yet.”
Other participants said if a state government handles access to land, clearing, and other things, the NIRSAL would have something reasonable to inspect because they want each cooperative to have farms in one location.
They also want to sign off an agreement on funding with a state or an agency so they can bring their own part and pass the farmers through standard training so they farm with international procedures and process the produce properly to access top niche local and international markets.
Governments in the north are said to jump unto these opportunities to help farming and farmers in their areas.
Speaking, the South-South Zonal Coordinator of NEPC, Joe Itah, NEPC has deemed it necessary to bring the Ginger Cooperative Society to a table to expose them to what they can gain in the value chain either in cultivation, marketing, processing, or adding value to the derivatives. “That is why we came up with this workshop.
“We also used the opportunity to present Ginger splitting machines to farmers in Rivers State. It has been discovered that Ginger can do well in the South-South and in Rivers State.”
