Renowned agribusiness expert and CEO of Xray Farms Consulting, Afioluwa Mogaji, widely known as AfricanFarmer Mogaji, has voiced concerns about the distribution of farm inputs in Nigeria.
Speaking during an interview with newsmen, Mogaji, highlighted the challenges facing the food sector in Nigeria.
He lamented that the current system of distributing farm inputs, where farmers travel long distances to receive fertilizers, seeds, and chemicals, is inefficient and often results in the sale of these inputs rather than their use for farming purposes.
“Some farmers have to travel up to four hours to collect these items. This journey often places financial burden on the farmers, forcing many to sell off the inputs instead of using them for farming,” he explained.
He attributed this problem to the high cost of logistics, which is not factored into the distribution process. He called for the decentralisation of the distribution process by reviving the use of local warehouses, a practice that was prevalent around the river basin areas in the past.
According to Mogaji, these warehouses allowed farmers to access inputs closer to their locations, often using motorcycles to transport them to their farms.
However, this system has been abandoned for over two decades, resulting in farmers having to bear the full burden of logistics when collecting inputs from state capitals.
Mogaji also stressed the need for effective monitoring and evaluation to ensure accountability in the distribution process.
“If we are giving 10 trailers, it should be 10 trailers that are distributed,” he said. “You do not want to give 1,000 trailers of fertilizers, and it’s just 500 trailers that are distributed,” he noted.
The agribusiness expert also called for transparency and accountability in the distribution process. He recommended that the government leverage the media to promote transparency and ensure that the right inputs are provided to farmers.
“Media is the bridge between intention and implementation, so when you have a good budget for media to follow through, then everybody will behave,” he said.
Mogaji also highlighted the need for high-quality inputs, such as hybrid seeds, which are better suited to Nigeria’s climate. He noted that the current inputs provided to farmers are often of poor quality, leading to unsatisfactory yields.
“We are still not using hybrid seeds, which are not GMOs, but they are better in terms of their resistance and tolerance to drought, excessive rains, and other extreme weather conditions,” he explained.
He expressed optimism that with the right policies in place, Nigeria can become food-secure within a short period. “You don’t need more than six months of focus on the right things and the right people to get things done,” he said.
Speaking on the impact of the Federal Government’s policies on food security, Mogaji noted that while the initial policies had good intentions, their implementation was flawed, leading to a gap in food availability.
“Initially, they got a lot of things wrong in terms of policies. And what has happened over time is that this created the gap in making food available,” he said.