US Aid to create market for Nigerian commodities
 16th SEP 2006

UNITED STATES' Agency for International Development (USAID), says it is facilitating market access for Nigerian commodities to raise income and standard of living of local farmers.

The Managing Director of Markets for the agency, Mr. Richard Cook, said in Abuja that the programme was aimed at promoting and ensuring market-driven and valued-added agricultural production as well as create farm employment.

“The major way to increase the sale of agricultural products, is to link farmers and processors with organisations and institutions that require value-added commodities in large quantities,'' he said.
According to him, the programme will result in the expansion of production scheme across the various commodities such as rice, ginger, sesame, cashew, cowpea, among others.

“The major plan is to network about 25,000 farmers from the current 80,000 farmers,'' he said.

Cook urged the Federal Government to fund research institutes and agricultural faculties in the country adequately to enable them become actively engaged in providing foundation stock for the development of a market-driven and private sector managed seed production and marketing sector.

The managing director decried the shortage of quality hybrid paddy seedlings for farmers, attributing the non-availability of locally processed rice in the market to poor seedlings, low productivity, high cost of production and lack of model mills.

Cook said the recent training and re-training programme organised for framers to imbibe best practices in 2006 pre-season through market initiatives were yielding the desired result.

“We are hopeful of a great season and farmers linked into our networks should have no problem selling their product, since many were linked to buyers even before planting,'' he said.

He listed major challenges facing farmers in Nigeria as high cost of production and inputs, particularly seeds and fertiliser, poor post-harvest handling, high logistical cost and absence of security.

On the issue of subsidy on fertiliser by the government, Cook said that the Federal Government should introduce equitable, transparent method of distribution and subsidy at source through the voucher system.

“Voucher system will bring about transparency to the sector and accountability of who bought and who sold,'' he said, stressing that the current system of fertiliser distribution was not transparent.

He urged farmers to take advantage of the various Agriculture Development Programmes (ADPs) available in their areas to acquire farming skills, knowledge, information and assistance from extension workers.

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