Farmers should pay attention to groundnut #nigeria

Groundnut farmers in the country have appealed to the
Federal Government to pay more attention to the groundnut
value chain programme to boost the nation's economy and
create employment opportunities.
The farmers, who spoke in separate interviews with the
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said that if groundnut was
properly harnessed, it could contribute significantly to the
nations' economy.
Mr Sam Kwa'na, the Secretary, All Farmers Association of
Nigeria (AFAN), Benue Chapter, observed that the Federal
Government had given adequate attention to most of the
crops, except groundnut.
Kwa'na recalled that groundnut used to be one of the crops
the discovery of oil.
He said that if groundnut production was given due
attention, it would help boost revenue generation.
"Improved seedlings of most crops were provided to farmers
by the Federal Government but it was not the case with
groundnut farmers."
He further noted most of the assistance that farmers in the
state received, come from the Federal Government.
"The state government should be very close to farmers in
order to have first hand information about their challenges,
with a view to addressing them," he said.
Mr Anthony Gberindyer, a groundnut farmer in Ushongo
Local Government Area of Benue, alleged that the state
government was not assisting groundnut farmers.
Gberindyer said that in spite neglect, groundnut production
had not declined.
Contrary to the situation in Benue, farmers in Katsina State
have commended the state government for acquiring and
distributing early maturing high yielding seeds from India to
boost groundnut production.
Alhaji Mansur Altine, the Director, Agricultural Services,
Katsina State Agricultural and Rural Development Authority
(KTARDA), said the seeds, "samnut 24, samnut 25 and
sanmut 26" matured within 75 days.
He said this was against the normal 90 to 120 maturing
days, adding that it was also resistant to drought, "aflotoxin
and other types of diseases that affect groundnut.
The director said that the authority had test-planted the
seed in Batsari, Zango, Dutsin-ma, Kaita, Safana and
Ingawa Local Government areas, where it yielded positive
results.
Altine attributed the decline in groundnut production for the
past 35 years to poor seeds.
He said that a research result indicated that Katsina State
was suitable for the cultivation of the crop planting the crop
during both dry and wet seasons.
"With a good management practice, one hectare of land
planted with the seeds could yield up to two tonnes."
According to him, the state government provided subsidy on
the seeds so as to make it affordable and available to
farmers.
The director also said that government had adopted a
"community seeds production method" to spread the seeds
to farmers.
Altine, therefore, urged the state government and wealthy
individuals to establish more agro-allied industries, so as
to encourage farmers to embrace groundnut farming.
He also said that the Federal Government had provided
improved groundnut seeds to 200 farmers under the
Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA).
Alhaji Kabir Safana, a farmer, told NAN that he had planted
the seedling and benefited immensely from the produce.
In Bauchi, the State Agricultural Development Programme
(BSADP), said it had budgeted N3 million to promote
groundnut production in 2014.
Dr Illiyasu Gital, BSADP's Programme Manager, told NAN
that the money was used for the production and promotion
of the commodity.
He said that government was determined to also educate
farmers on the new technology.
He said part of the fund was also spent on procurement of
varieties of hybrid seeds produced by some research
institutes in the country which were sold to farmers at a
subsidised rate.
He said BSADP had worked in collaboration with the State
Apex Groundnut Farmers Association through which farm
inputs were distributed to the participating farmers.
"In the past, the cultivation of groundnuts was left to farmers
without serious intervention either by the government or
non-governmental organisations.
"Marketing of the commodity was done in a way that most of
the farmers were being cheated and discouraged, especially
with the scrapping of the marketing board, middlemen came
into the business.
"You spend N100, 000 in producing your groundnut and a
middleman will buy your groundnut at N60, 000 and will
sell at N160, 000.
"You are losing N40, 000 and he is gaining N90, 000; he is
making money while the farmers and real producers are
losing.
"Therefore, most farmers go for what they will produce and
eat or they go for any other thing rather than producing
groundnut," he said.
Gital said another factor that had hindered the production of
the commodity in the past was groundnut disease, which
drastically reduced the rate of production.
He said that poor pricing of the commodity and groundnut
disease had discouraged farmers.
He observed that the country was spending huge foreign
exchange on the importation of groundnut by-products used
in the production of fish, poultry and livestock feeds, which
could be produced locally.
"Government should initiate a research to make sure that
the groundnut to be produced is pest or disease resistant
and make sure we add value to enable farmers break even,"
he said.
In Zamfara, groundnut farmers urged both state and Federal
Governments to give more support to farmers.
The chairman of the groundnut farmers in the state, Alhaji
Hassan Muhammad, told NAN that groundnut farming in the
state had reduced drastically.
"The decline in the groundnut production was as a result of
many factors which included government neglect and poor
support.
"For government to revive groundnut farming in the state,
there should be a Marketing Board that would add value to
the groundnut.
"The board should fix price that would encourage farmers to
go back to farm," he said.
He, however, urged on banks to reduce the difficulties in
accessing loans by farmers.
The Director, Agriculture of Gusau Local Government, Alhaji
Abubakar Ruwan-Dorowa, said the state government had
been supporting farmers with farm inputs.
Ruwan-Dorowa said groundnut farming had made people,
especially women in the state, to be self-reliant considering
how groundnut was being processed and used in the
production of variety of things.
He called on governments at all levels to increase their
support to groundnut farmers, noting groundnut and cotton
had made the country proud in the past.
On his part, i,Alhaji Musa Raji, the Federal Director, Ministry
of Agriculture and Rural Development in Gusau office, said
the Federal Government was committed to reviving
groundnut farming in the state.
Raji said part of the government efforts was distributing
fertilisers and seeds at 50 per cent subsidy to farmers.
He said the assistance and training given to farmers had
increased employment in the state especially in the rural
areas.
Also, Aminu Lawal, a groundnut farmer from Wanke village
in Gusau Local Government said the Federal Government
had provided them with subsidised fertilisers and seeds.
He stressed the need for the state government to provide
them with more assistance, saying that Wanke village used
to be the leading producer of groundnut in the state.
In Kaduna, stakeholders want government to revive the
groundnut pyramids of old, saying it was the mainstay of the
country's economy in the past.
The state Director, Agricultural Transformation Agenda
(ATA) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Tijjani Isiyaku, said
that the groundnut pyramid period was a great success for
Nigeria.
"But all that is a gone now, but with the coming of the
Minister of Agriculture, the government has also introduced
groundnut value chain to revive groundnut production in the
country.
"Reviving groundnut production is not going to be easy but
it is a gradual process," he said.
Isiyaku said the state government had commenced the
distribution of different varieties of groundnut seeds to
farmers.
The director listed one of the challenges as inadequate
seeds to meet up with the demand of farmers.
Mr Yakubu Agya, a groundut farmer, said in Jalingo that he
produced about 100 bags of groundnut every year but that
marketing the product remained a major problem.
"Government should establish processing companies to
encourage us to expand our production capacity and make
the product available for both local and international
markets," he said.
Dr Ajeigbe Hakeem, Groundnut Value Chain Leader, Federal
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the
Federal Government would this year, support over 1,000
groundnut farmers in 16 states to boost dry season
production
He said in Abuja that this was in addition to other ongoing
efforts of the Federal Government to revive the lost
groundnut pyramids in the North.
Last year's dry season, we worked in 10 states and reached
over 150 farmers, giving them farm inputs and enhancing
access to finance.
"This year's dry season, we shall be working in 16 states
and we are going to have over 1,000 farmers to produce for
the dry season alone," he said.
He said the support for dry season groundnut production
was a new development that would ensure all-year-round
production of the commodity.