.As NGO urges wealthy Nigerians to join fight against poverty
.Onion farmers link price hike, scarcity to flood, climate change
Mr Titilayo Adebanjo, an agricultural expert, has called on the Federal Government to revive “Operations Feed The Nation” to boost food sufficiency and supply chain across the country.
Adebanjo made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, in Epe.
He said that, if all states across the country go into agriculture, especially food production, It would boost food availability in the market which will eventually lead price reduction.
Adebanjo noted that a robust agricultural sector was fundamental to national development.
“Operation feed the Nation” was one of the agricultural policy thrust of the administration of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo during his tenure as military head of state.
According to Adebanjo, prioritising farming remains a key strategy towards achieving food security in the country.
He maintained that increased investment in agriculture was critical in ensuring that citizens have access to affordable food items.
The agriculture expert stressed the need for all states in the country to embrace farming so as to become self sufficient in food production.
He added that this approach and intervention would not only enhance food security but also contribute to stabilising food prices across the nation.
“It is logical that if every state in the country takes farming seriously and produces food to meet the needs of its citizens, it will significantly reduce the cost of food in the market.
“An increase in food supply will naturally lead to lower prices, making food more affordable for the average Nigerians,” he said.
Adebanjo urged the government to create the needed enabling environment for farmers by providing incentives such as; access to land, low-interest loans, and modern farming equipment.
He explained that these measures would motivate more individuals to venture into agriculture and increase productivity.
The expert also called for the promotion of agricultural education and training programmes to equip farmers with modern techniques and knowledge.
“This will enhance efficiency in food production and improve the quality of agricultural outputs, ” he said.
Adebanjo called on all tiers of government to act swiftly in implementing policies that would transform farming into a sustainable solution for food security in the country.
Meanwhile, Retired Major Ambrose Agho, founder of the Ambrose Agho Empowerment and Welfare Initiative, an NGO, has urged wealthy Nigerians to support the less privileged in society.
Agho made this appeal in his new year message, emphasizing the need for donations to support the NGO’s philanthropic efforts.
This is contained in a statement issued to newsmen by Mr Kevin Okunzuwa, the NGO’s Director of Information and Publicity on Sunday in Benin, Edo.
Okunzuwa said Agho’s appeal was timely, considering the ongoing struggles with poverty in Nigeria.
A World Bank Report had projected Nigeria’s economic growth to reach 3.3 per cent by April of 2024.
According to the report, in spite of the low unemployment rate in the country, low consumer spending and purchasing power remain an issue, especially in the absence of commensurate increase in minimum wage to mitigate the inflationary growth in the economy.
At the presentation of scholarship grant and interest-free loan cheques on Saturday in Benin, the Board’s Chairman, Prof. Daniel Osasogie, encouraged the beneficiaries to make the most of this opportunity, highlighting the harsh realities of poverty in Nigeria.
“To address poverty effectively, NGOs like the Ambrose Agho Empowerment and Welfare Initiative require support from wealthy individuals and organisations.
“By working together, we can create a brighter future for the less privileged in society,” he said.
Mrs Mercy Ogbe, a trader, who spoke on behalf of other beneficiaries, thanked the NGO for the gesture, describing the grants and loans as mustard seeds that would positively transform their lifestyles.
Ogbe said these grants and loans would help alleviate some of their financial burdens enabling them to focus on their education and economic empowerment.
The beneficiaries received scholarship grants from between N25,000 for Primary school school, and N50,000 for Secondary schools and interest-free loan of N100,000 to traders
In another development, The Onion Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria has explained reasons for the upsurge in the price of onions and scarcity of the produce in the country.
The National President of the Association, Mr Aliyu Isah, gave the reasons in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.
NAN reports that Nigeria witnessed a soaring rise in the price of onions from the fourth quarter of 2024 with a bag selling between N250,000 and N270,000 as against N70,000 and N90,000 per bag in previous months.
While a medium-sized bulb of the produce sells at N500 as against N50 per bulb.
Isah told NAN that the reasons for the hike in onion price were multifaceted, leading to low production of the produce.
“What caused the scarcity and high cost of onions from the last quarter of 2024 till now is as a result of the flooding.
“The flooding of 2024 that ravaged all our onion farms, from the producing bed of Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, up to Adamawa states resulted in the scarcity of the produce.
“We also had the problem affecting onion production with the release of water from dams from the northern states.
In Sokoto, the water was released from Goroyo Dam, when it got to a certain level it affected the onion beds from Sokoto, Kebbi and up to Zamfara states.
“Also, we had the breakage of dams in Borno State which destroyed our onion farmlands,” Aliyu said.
He also blamed climate change effects resulting in extended rainfall and disease outbreak on onion farms as another reason for the price surge.
“The second issue affecting scarcity and the high cost of onions is that we experienced an extended and high level of rainfall up north in 2024.
“So, the high amount of rainfall resulted in high humidity which resulted in disease outbreak popularly called Downy Mildew, which destroyed most of our onion farms at various stages of cultivation.
“Some onions farms were affected at seedling stage, some at nursery stage, some when we were even about to harvest the onion,” the association president said.
He added that the unavailability of the produce due to lack of improved onion seedlings contributed to the development.
“The third is the issue of unavailability of the produce due to lack of improved onion seedlings.
The factors of flooding and climate change has affected and disrupted our local seed production system.
“We do have not sufficient and quality onion seedlings, so we now rely on hybrid seed that we import from foreign countries.
“The issue of flooding really affected onion seed production so local farmers could not get enough seed to buy. This situation also resulted in the unavailability of onions. From the fourth quarter of 2024, and our farmers with their money, they could not see seed to buy.
“This also culminated to a serious problem where some unpatriotic Nigeria imported adulterated onion seed into the country and now our farmers are counting their losses because they planted a seed that cannot produce a bulb,” he said.
Aliyu lamented that lack of storage facilities and technology of the produce at harvests contributed to the surge in its price.
“Another contributory factor to scarcity and price surge of onions is post-harvest losses.
“That even when we harvest enough during the season because we lack improved technology of onion storage, we are being faced with more than 50 per cent post-harvest losses.
“This is to say that more than half of what we produce, we lose it after harvest. So, all these are part of the problem that is making the onions to be expensive,” Aliyu said.
Aliyu said the association was working with the Federal Government on ways to boost production and tackle the surge in the price of onions.
For a better society
Follow us across our platforms:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/championnewsonline/
Facebook – https://web.facebook.com/championnewsonline
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/champion-newspapers-limited/
https://x.com/championnewsng/
You can also like and comment on our YouTube videos.
https://youtu.be/QIBfD1tT80w?si=R4Qf3so2LxYu3GC2
