We were denied N1b Fed Govt loan, say Ekiti farmers

•Govt: we can’t deal with factions

Ekiti State farmers, under the aegis of All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (AFAN), have accused the state government of denying their members access to a N1billion loan the Federal Government granted the association. 

Addressing reporters yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, AFAN Chairman Joseph Oso Akinjobi said efforts by the association to make the government change its position have not yielded result.

He explained that since the creation of the state 16 years ago, none of the members has benefitted from any agricultural loan. 

He said none of the letters the association has sent to the government on the matter has been responded to.

The AFAN chairman said the association’s members in other states in the Southwest as well as Kwara, Kogi and Edo states, have benefited from the loan, just as those in Kano, Abia, Adamawa and Sokoto states.

He noted that the problem persists because the state AFAN cannot deal directly with the state government  but but through its officials.

Akinjobi accused the ministry’s officials of approving  loans to their colleagues and politicians.

He urged the state government to publish the names of farmers who were defaulting on loans, saying the government need to assist AFAN members to access fertilisers, which he alleged have been trapped among a few farmers and ministry officials.

Akinjobi said: “The ministry, which should be our technical partner, has always been working as sole determinant of what should be given to and who should be given among farmers.”

But Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources Mr. Babajide Arowosafe said there is no organisation that can be recognised as AFAN. 

The commissioner said Ekiti State AFAN is factionalised into at least two camps, with either faction claiming superiority. 

He said efforts to broker a truce between the camps have failed.

Arowosafe said: “One of the steps taken when the present administration came on board was to open a register for farmers in which 62,000 farmers have so far registered.

“Another major step was to adopt a Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) policy, in which only the registered farmers are those we deal with and they have continued to enjoy facilities in cash and kind.

“In truth, what we discovered is that AFAN, even as it is, has not been adding value to its members. This is a trend that must change, if we have to change the fortunes of agriculture in the state. The fad of offering facilities and assistance to portfolio farmers has got to stop.

“But we have, through the GES, given support to rice, cocoa, poultry and other categories of farmers, and they all come under AFAN. When we meet these groups separately, they say the government should deal directly with them and not through third party arrangement.

“I recall that the first time we had fertiliser distribution through the farmers’ unions, the redemption rate was 120 per cent. But when we deployed the fertilisers directly to farmers, redemption rate was just four per cent.

“This means the government, over time, has been conducting huge fortunes into private pockets as the actual farmers, who should use the fertilisers, said the land is fertile enough and that they don’t need fertilisers. The question is: who and who have been enjoying past distributions, which the government has always subsidised?

“Another cause of disagreement is the nature of the loan/assistance the government wants to give. While we are insisting on giving facilities, in terms of input and raw materials which the farmers can apply on their farms, AFAN is insisting that the government should give it cash loans. This is not possible, as money is easily diverted to other uses.

“However, the government can add cash assistance to the already offered materials when the need arises. But such needs must be pressing and seen by all.  

“While AFAN members, who have registered with the ministry, have been enjoying the facilities, the allegation that the Ekiti State Government has been denying the group its dues in terms of loan grants, seems most illogical. The preference of the camps in AFAN for money loans is what the government has decided against. This is for the benefit of all and the progress of agriculture in the state.”