Small holder farmers under the aegis of Association of Small Scale Agro Producers in Nigeria (ASSAPIN), has appealed for special intervention to avert food shortage in the country.
Jonathan noted that the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic had taken a toll on small holders farmers in the country.
According to him, small holders farmers are responsible for a greater percentage of food production in the country.
Jonathan maintained that with the outbreak of COVID-19 and the attendant lockdown at the beginning of the farming season, food crisis loom in the country.
“If nothing is done quickly in terms of special intervetion for our rural poor farmers, because the farming season is just starting, there would be food crisis.
“This is because if you can’t produce and you finished what you had produced, then there would be serious problem,” he added.
He urged government at all levels to initiate programmes targeted at small holder farmers for the provision of farm inputs such as improved seeds, fertilizers and agro chemicals.
The association president also suggested that farmers and agro chemical dealers should be exempted from the government’s restriction order to enable them go to their farms.
He appealed to farmers and all citizens to take precautionary measures by government and relevant authorities seriously as COVID-19 is real.
Though the appearance of the Osun State born farmer doesn’t portray him as one, but the fact is that he owns more than the tomato plantation. He is into Integrated Farming-he cultivates cucumber, pepper, rice and also operates poultry and fish farms.
One of the advantages of the system is that through it, farmers can make enormous profit, because the season and climate change always determine their profits. He noted that if the season doesn’t favour pepper, it will favour cucumber, if it doesn’t favour cucumber, it would favour rice.
