IFAD/VCDP in Niger calls for synergy between farmers, tractor owners


International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-assisted Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) in Niger has called for collaboration between its beneficiary farmers and Tractor Owners and Hiring Facilities Association of Nigeria (TOHFAN).
Dr Mathew Ahmed, the State Programme Coordinator, made the call on Wednesday in Minna during a stakeholders meeting on agricultural mechanisation service delivery.
He said that the collaboration between farmers and the Niger chapter of TOHFAN would create jobs and wealth among the youth in the state.
“If the farmers and TOHFAN can work together, it will bring about agricultural mechanisation which will, in turn, attract more youth to take to farming.
“It will also enable farmers, tractor owners, operators, hiring agents, booking agents and technicians to get better service delivery for their investment,’’ he said.
Ahmed urged the 13, 000 farmers, who were benefitting from VCDP rice and cassava initiatives in the state, to embrace the tractor hiring service value chain to enhance their productivity.
Similarly, Alhaji Danladi Garba, the National Chairman of TOHFAN, stressed the need for tractor owners in the state to register with the association in order to boost the farmers’ access to sustainable tractor hiring services.
He also pledged the association’s readiness to provide hitch-free services to farmers, assuring them of sustained access to tractors for their land preparation.
Garba said that the association, which was established in 2003 with nine tractors and 36 members, operated in 21 states to provide commercial tractor hiring services for interested farmers.
He said that the association currently had 757 registered members across the country with 262 tractors in its fleet.
Also speaking, Mallam Mohammed Useni, a tractor owner from Katcha Local Government Area of the state, said that he would register with the association so as to provide quality services for farmers, while recouping his investment.
In his remark, Alhaji Kabiru Abbas, the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, identified drudgery as one of the reasons why youths backed away from agriculture.
Abbas, who was represented by Alhaji Muhammadu Ibrahim, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, said that the tractor hiring services would attract more youths to agriculture.

He said that government was making arrangements to purchase more tractors for commercial services.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tomato disease outbreak: Institute appeals for research funding

The National Horticultural Research Institute, Ibadan, has appealed for funding to carry out research and create awareness on the tuta absoluta pest on tomatoes. The Institute’s Head of Vegetable Programme, Dr Olagorite Adetula, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Friday that there was an urgent need to tackle the problem to save the economy. Adetula said the institute needed money to do surveillance survey of the pest/damage, ascertain the impact of the damage and proffer solution for eradicating the pest. She appealed to the Federal Government to help the institute get pheromones to lure and trap the pests and distribute to farmers. ``Spraying insecticides is not the best, the pest has high production rate, some of them can escape while spraying it and they will be resistant to the insecticide thereby causing us more cost. ``The pheromones can be used for six to eight weeks before changing it, it is very effective, the pest has short life cycle, wit...
Read more

10,000 women farmers to be engaged in ECOWAS rice project – official

Image
 Mr Richard Olafare, the President, Seed Entrepreneurs Association of Nigeria (SEEDAN) says 10,000 women will be engaged in the recently inaugurated Rice Seed Up-Scaling Project. This is contained in a presentation on the project made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday. Olafare said 8,000 youths would also be engaged in the scaling project. According to him, the number of women and youths represented 50 per cent and 40 per cent respectively of the 20,000 farmers that will participate in the project. NAN reports that the project is an initiative of the West Africa Seed Programme (WASP) in support of the ECOWAS Rice Offensive Programme that was inaugurated in 2014. Among other objectives, it is targeting the production of 60,000 metric tonnes of paddy rice for Nigeria by December 2017, using 1,200 certified seeds. The project is being implemented by SEEDAN in collaboration with the West and Central Africa Council for Agricultura...
Read more

Monsanto Nigeria Launches 3 Conventional Maize Hybrids

Maize farmers across Nigeria now have 3 high yielding conventional maize hybrids to choose from the DEKALB ® brand as Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Limited launches 3 conventional maize hybrids. The launch held in Abuja on Tuesday May 17 2016 had in attendance farmers, development partners, government regulatory bodies and other stakeholders from both the private and public sectors of the economy. The launch of these hybrid seeds follows their registration by the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds and Fisheries in February 2016. The white maize hybrid, DK234 alongside the 2 yellow maize hybrids, DK920 and DK818 obtained registration approval for use in Nigeria after testing across various agro ecological zones on multi-location farms. The white maize hybrid DK234 with yield potential of 13 tonnes per hectare is well adapted for the Southern and Northern Guinea Savanna ecologies and shows tolerance to Maize Streak Virus, ...
Read more