Farmers in Katsina state have called on the federal government to implement the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme as a means of supporting farmers who suffer losses as a result of natural and man-made disasters.
Speaking exclusively to LEADERSHIP during a fact finding tour of the state, the farmers lamented that often farmers were at a loss when they borrow loans from banks and suffer losses as a result of disasters.
According to a cotton farmer, Mallam Mustapha, taking banks’ loans amounts to running at a loss because farmers sometimes under-produce as a result of natural causes such as flooding, draughts and even late planting and all the banks are after is payment of the loans after harvest.
He said that like the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) and the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) programme of the federal government, the insurance scheme will create a soft fall for farmers and encourage them to pick up again after a loss.Mustapha said that even though government, through the Nigerian Incentive-based Risk Sharing Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) facility, gave loans to farmers, he did not participate because in the event of natural disasters banks do not show empathy. He commended the efforts of the government in the ATA/GES, describing them as overwhelming and encouraging.
Another farmer, Rabiu Sulaiman, called on the federal government to ensure that farmers’ loans are at single digits instead of the status quo where they pay double digits. He also lamented the bureaucracy of banks in granting loans, saying that banks often provided the loans late into the season which is usually disadvantageous to farmers.
Sulaiman also commended the efforts of the West African Cotton (WACOT) Company in supporting farmers with certified seeds, fertilisers, trainings as well as the provision of extension services which he said “has taught him a lot as a farmer; from planting to harvesting and we are seeing results.”
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