Members of Farmers Community Association in Ikole-Ekiti, have appealed to the State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, to empower them with soft loans to enhance their productivity during the farming season.
The Chairman of the association, Mr Olatunji Ayegbusi, made the appeal while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ikole-Ekiti on Sunday.
He said the farmers needed urgent government intervention to survive the current economic challenges facing the state and Nigeria as a whole.
Ayegbusi urged the state government to partner with foreign investors and private companies to empower them with loans and fertilizers to improve agricultural produce in the state.
“On Behalf of the association in Ikole-Ekiti, I want to appeal to our governor to empower us by giving us soft loans to boost agricultural produce to reduce purchase from other states.
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“The Federal Government has been giving out fertilizers to farmers across the federation but our own fertilizers are being diverted; we don’t have money to set up irrigation system to boost our productivity in our various farms.
“Farmers in other states are doing better than us because their state governments intervened and backed them with adequate funds to enhance their productivity and they are doing well.
“We are suffering in the hands of insecurity and the farm implement that we need to make our work easier are too expensive to procure in the market.“
He, however, appealed to the state government to rescue them and set up budget for agriculture and empowerment of farmers in the state.
Ayegbusi also urged the state governor to give priority attention to the welfare of the registered farmers association.
He added that incentives meant for them should be directed to the association’s chairman and not to any government officials in the state .
