By; SANI ALIYU, Zaria
Kaduna State Chapter of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has disassociated itself from sales of forms to farmers in the State for the Federal National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro Pocket (NAGS –AP) initiative.
Alhaji Nuhu Aminu, Chairman Kaduna State Chapter of the association told New Nigerian shortly after an emergency meeting that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security alerted the association of the problem of selling the allocation forms in Kaduna State.
AFAN chairman also said, the NAGS-AP inputs distributed to the farmers has indicated a promising result in wheat production in the country.
According to him, this initiative by the Federal Government to subsidise dry season farming input by 50 per cent under its National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro Pocket (NAGS –AP) initiative is a free programme no amount is being charged from anybody.
It would be recalled that for dry season wheat farming, a beneficiary is required to deposit N180,500, representing 50 per cent of the total cost of the inputs to qualify for the subsidy.
Aminu said over 90 per cent of the beneficiaries had redeemed their inputs, planted the wheat within as the government’s intervention has greatly augmented their personnel efforts.
The scheme will encourage smallholder farmers to key into the initiative easily and urged the federal government to work closely with state governments toward ensuring that genuine farmers were registered as beneficiaries.
The chairman said the initiative was in line with the yearning of the association on empowering small holder farmers who were the largest producers of food in Nigeria.
Some farmers said NAGS–AP have prevented them from becoming debtors and other exploitation experienced during the Anchor Borrowers Scheme.
He added that the initiative has linked farmers with genuine improved seeds and other input and also a simultaneous relationship between the agro-dealers and farmers.
