Audu Ogbeh: Agric Minister:

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN reports that the Niger chapter of All Farmers Association of Nigeria(AFAN) has condemned the current practice of marketers advancing funds to farmers for cultivation of crops.

Alhaji Shehu Galadima, the AFAN chairman in the state, made this known in an interview with the News Agency (NAN) on Saturday in Minna.

He said: “A particular season may come with bumper harvest while another will come with poor harvest.

“In the case of poor harvest how will the farmer settle the marketer?’’

Galadima advised the 1.5 million registered members of the association in the state to desist from such arrangement, saying it may not always favour them.

He explained that farmers were supposed to harvest the crops they cultivated on their own while checking the market value before negotiating with marketers also known as off takers.

“ If you give a farmer money to produce certain amount of a particular crop, there is tendency that he may not have food and money to cater for his family after settling the off-taker.

“This is because he must do everything possible to meet the target of the marketer, hence the whole produce for that season will go to the off-taker.

“He may also have spent the whole money given to him before cultivation to meet the target of the marketer and on family issues,’’ he said.

The AFAN chairman described the arrangement as “shylock’’ and aimed at impoverishing the farmers as well as creating room for litigation.

He urged the marketers to allow the farmers to engage in their normal farming activities of producing food crops or raw materials before negotiating with farmers.

Galadima also said this would eliminate unwholesome practices between the farmers and marketers in the course of marketing farm produce.

He further called on farmers to always keep farm records and work with these, saying they would be able to plan properly and adopt modern farming techniques.

(NAN)