Agricultural stakeholders have urged the Federal Government to introduce practical measures to reduce production costs and improve farmers’ productivity.
They made the call in separate interviews on Thursday in Lagos while reacting to President Bola Tinubu’s 66th Independence Day address, in which he pledged to reduce production costs across various sectors.
Tinubu said lowering production and transportation costs in agriculture and other sectors would help Nigerians achieve shared prosperity.
Sakin Agbayewa, Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Lagos State, commended the administration’s efforts but called for increased funding and support for farmers.
“In all sincerity, President Bola Tinubu’s administration has been trying to reduce the cost of production for us farmers, and he has done well. The distribution of fertilisers to farmers across 26 states of the country is a testament to this,” said Mr Agbayewa.
Agbayewa said the government had made efforts to support farmers, adding that the Nigeria Forest Security initiative would help improve security on farmlands.
Similarly, Omotunde Banjoko, a farmer and agricultural analyst, called for subsidised farm inputs and measures to discourage the importation of commodities that could be produced locally.
“It is a welcome development that President Tinubu’s administration wants to reduce the cost of production in the agricultural sector. Given the rising cost of production, the promise to reduce production costs is welcome because that is what we have been clamouring for,” Mr Banjoko explained.
Banjoko urged the government to sustain funding for farmers and ensure that announced interventions were implemented.
He also called for the provision of mechanisation equipment at subsidised rates across local government areas to increase agricultural output and lower production expenses.
Ismail Olawale, a strategic agricultural communication expert, advocated a comprehensive approach to reducing production costs, stressing the need for the government to understand the entire agricultural value chain.
“From all indications and from the president’s speech, ensuring lower production costs in the agriculture sector is a good promise,” Mr Olawale noted. “But for the president to achieve this, with whatever policy he wants to set up or plan, the Presidency needs to understand the value chain across agriculture.”
In his Independence Day address, Tinubu said his administration would focus on reducing the cost of living by lowering production and transportation costs.
He also highlighted what he described as improvements resulting from the government’s economic reforms, citing economic growth of more than four per cent, reduced oil theft, foreign exchange stabilisation and $6 billion in non-oil exports in 2025.
The President further outlined plans to expand mechanised irrigation, dry-season farming, roads, railways and port infrastructure, alongside social support programmes, education loans and consumer credit through CREDICORP.
