The National President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Mr Farouk Rabiu-Mudi, has expressed the association’s support for President Bola Tinubu’s agricultural transformation agenda.
Rabiu-Mudi said this at a press conference in Kano.
He stressed that the partnership between AFAN and the Federal Government was helping to address food security and improve farmers’ access to their farmlands.
He said Nigeria had more than 70 million hectares of farmland, noting that some of the areas had previously been inaccessible to farmers due to insecurity.
According to him, the efforts of the present administration to improve security, particularly through coordinated operations by the nation’s security architecture, had encouraged many farmers to return to their farms.
“The partnership between the Ministry of Defence and AFAN has suddenly become a game changer for our farmers, as many farmers are beginning to go back to their farmlands,” he said.
Rabiu-Mudi also commended the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, for his role in supporting farmers and internally displaced persons, saying AFAN had recently conferred on him the title of Patron of the association.
He said the partnership had also facilitated an agricultural study tour to Brazil for some AFAN executives, where they participated in the annual Cotrijal trade exhibition to identify innovations that could support Nigerian farmers and improve agricultural activities in IDP communities.
The AFAN president announced that the association would host the Nigerian-Brazilian International Agricultural Exhibition in collaboration with the Kano State Government and the Kano State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KACCIMA) in November.
He said the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Food Security, Livestock Development, Industry, Trade and Investment, and Foreign Affairs were collaborating on the initiative aimed at transforming Nigeria’s agricultural and livestock sectors from subsistence to mechanised and commercial farming.
Rabiu-Mudi said stronger collaboration with Brazilian farmers, increased support for outgrower schemes and blended financing would help boost agricultural productivity and contribute to economic growth.
He added that Nigeria had vast arable land and a large pool of farmers willing to embrace commercial agriculture, stressing that the country could become a major agricultural hub in West Africa and an important exporter of farm produce.
He commended the Federal Government for initiatives including the establishment of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the livestock development initiative, the Blue Economy, and funding of the National Agricultural Growth Scheme-Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP), the Nigerian Agricultural Development Fund and the Bank of Agriculture.
The AFAN president urged farmers nationwide to key into the Federal Government’s agricultural initiatives and seek guidance and support from relevant agencies to promote food security and national development.
He also called on farmers to support the agricultural transformation agenda of President Tinubu, saying collective efforts were needed to unlock Nigeria’s agricultural potential.
ABDULLAHI JALALUDDEEN KANO
