Farmers decry late distribution of fertiliser under GES scheme

The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kano State chapter, has expressed concern over late distribution of fertiliser under the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) Scheme in the state.

The AFAN State’s Secretary, Garba Bichi, made the observation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Saturday.

Bichi said though the scheme was a pilot programme, but the commodity should have been distributed much earlier than now.

He, however, commended the mode of distribution, adding that the exercise was going on smoothly in spite of the challenges faced by farmers at the initial stage.

“The distribution is going on now smoothly unlike at the initial stage when farmers faced some challenges in terms of verifying their names,” he said.

He called on farmers, who received SMS alert, to go to their respective redemption centres to collect the commodity after payment.

According to him, there are eight designated redemption centres across the 44 local government areas in the state for the pilot programme.

The distribution of the commodity, which began about 10 days ago, was being carried out at eight redemption centres across the 44 local government areas of the state.

Also commenting on the issue, some local farmers in the state called on the Federal Government to ensure early distribution of the commodity next year.

They said timely distribution was necessary to enable farmers, particularly those in remote areas to procure the commodity before the commencement of farming activities.

“Most of us started clearing our farms between April and May following the early rainfall in some parts of the state,” one of the farmers, Malam Bello Sani said.

Sani noted that a situation whereby fertiliser is distributed almost at the end of the rainy season would not help farming.

“We are supposed to have been given the commodity in May or June when the crops needed the commodity most, not now when majority of farmers are preparing to harvest their crops,” he said. (NAN)