Some farmers in Anambra state under the aegis of Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN), have lamented that herdsmen attacks and invasion were disrupting their farming activities.
State Chairman of the association, Chief Simon Nwafor, who disclosed this at Onitsha on Tuesday, begged the federal government to find a lasting solution to the menace so as to avert food scarcity.
“The issue of herdsmen’s attacks is really a menace. Government can handle the issue by keeping them and their cattle in a mapped out place so that our farms will remain. The farmers also want adequate security in the farms ,” Nwafor added.
He also said that lack of accessible roads affect them just as Bank Verification Number (BVN) had denied majority of their members opportunity to access various government agricultural programmes.
“Most of our core rural farmers don’t have account let alone BVN, and this has always disenfranchised them from participating in the programme. The federal government through the CBN should soft pedal on the issue of BVN, so that majority of our farmers in the rural areas will be incorporated into it” the chairman implored.
Nwafor, however, commended the federal government for disbursing N20 million worth faming inputs to the state farmers for the 2019 farming season, assuring a bountiful harvests as some members had moved to Omasi-Uno farm cluster in Ayamelum Local Government Area for mechanised maize farming.
According to him, some of the inputs were 122 bags of 20kg maize; 504 bags of 50kg NPK fertilizer; 152 bags of 50kg Urea and agro-chemicals, others.
