AGRA Identifies Poor Irrigation Facilities, Funding as Major Bottlenecks for Nigerian Farmers

Gilbert Ekugbe

The Agricultural Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has stated that the absence of irrigation facilities, inadequate funding and improper farmer enlightenment were among the challenges hindering the productivity of Nigerian farmers.

The Country Director for AGRA, Dr. Kehinde Makinde, however, called on the need for partnership as a route to alleviating farmers’ sufferings.

According to him, access to adequate credit facilities has remained a threat to the cultivation of local food in the country, stressing that access to grants and loans to farmers have remained one of the stumbling blocks of adequate food production in the country.

“Most farmers are willing to double their yearly productions, but they lack the adequate finance to do that”, he added.
He noted that AGRA is making efforts to augment the federal government’s efforts to revitalise the country’s agriculture sector.

He noted that AGRA would ensure that the agriculture sector contributes largely to the country’s economic transformation.

Makinde stated that the institution would achieve the earlier stated goal through a partnership with the government, to provide quality inputs, in addition to facilitating farmer education on modern farming techniques, especially in rural areas.

He noted that efforts to address these challenge are however underway, as AGRA has already partnered with the federal government on ways to improve rural and urban farmers’ access to technology, to boost food production nationwide.

“AGRA in its part has provided various supports in terms of providing improved seeds to farmers in rural areas where they find it hard to access such technologically advanced seeds that will boost the farm yield of farmers.

“In terms of adhering to modern agricultural best practices, AGRA has trained farmers mostly in rural areas by setting up demo farms for farmers to learn from their extension workers to know when to plant a particular seed, when to apply fertilizer and other chemicals that will help in nurturing the Plant, when to harvest and what to use in harvesting those products.