As Nigeria intensifies efforts to achieve sustainable food security and curb rising food prices, farmers have raised fresh concerns over the persistent challenges of poor storage infrastructure and dilapidated rural roads — issues they say continue to undermine productivity and profit margins.
Mr. Adewumi Abas, Chairman of the Oyo State chapter of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), stated this on Monday in Ibadan, calling for urgent government intervention to prevent massive losses suffered by farmers, especially those producing perishable goods like tomatoes and peppers.
Abas lamented that many perishable crops must be harvested every three days, whether there is a ready market or not, leading to waste and income loss.
“Once the quality of such crops starts diminishing, their market value declines, leading to shortages for farmers. This, among others, contributes to the high cost of food in the country,” he said.
He appealed to the government to invest in modern food storage and preservation facilities, assuring that farmers’ associations would readily key into such initiatives through acquisition or rental arrangements.
Abas also decried the poor state of rural roads, which, according to him, discourages transporters from conveying farm produce to markets, thereby inflating logistics costs.
“Most times, farmers have to carry harvested crops on their heads to locations where vehicles can reach. This leads to double expenses because labourers are paid to carry the goods, and drivers are also paid. These costs eventually reflect in the market price of foodstuffs,” he explained.
Despite the challenges, the AFAN chairman commended the Oyo State Government for enhancing security in rural areas, noting the efforts of the Western Nigeria Security Network (Amotekun) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Agro-Ranger Squad in protecting farmers.
He, however, urged the government not to relent in providing security, particularly during the dry season when herders move around in search of pasture.
Abas further lamented that many farmers could not recover their investments due to the sharp drop in produce prices, blaming it on government policies that allow the importation of food items without adequate protection for local producers.
“Many cassava farmers lost their investments during the current harvest season,” he said.
