The National President of Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria (POFAN), Mr Daniel Okafor, has implored the Federal Government to support genuine farmers in the place of political farmers.
The POFAN Boss noted this at the end of the year get-together of the members of the association in Abuja.
According to Daniel, the event was aimed at taking a critical look at the 2023 agricultural scorecard, and to deliberate on expectations of farmers in 2024.
He added that the Federal Government should profile all farmers so they can have a database of genuine farmers.
“All these people you see parading themselves as farmers policy and implementation makers are political farmers.
“They are not practising farmers, they don’t plant anything and yet they hijack all the incentives provided by the federal government for genuine farmers.
“If the government continues to patronise political farmers, they will continue to experience the same result, which is severe hunger in the country.
“Let them change their strategy, work with real farmers and they will get results.
“I have seen the government sending some people abroad, spending our scarce resources to buy seeds, when our own researchers can give them same if properly funded,” he explained.
He stressed that governments at all levels should put more effort into tackling insecurity in the country in order to improve food security.
His words: “many farmers have been deprived access to their farmlands for fear of either being kidnapped for ransom, or being attacked or killed by herders.”
However, he promised his members a better 2024 farming season where most of the challenges of 2023 would have been improved.