Farmers, Traders Decry Hardship, Seek Government Support In Katsina

As soaring food prices, growing hunger and economic hardship continue to dominate the spurs of the food crisis in Nigeria, farmers in Katsina State have intensified calls on government to support their businesses with funds and modern facilities to boost the nation’s economy.

Fact checks have shown that rising demand from major economies, climate and weather-related exhibitions, high oil prices, poor policies and unemployment among several other factors, have aided the economic meltdown in the state and a lot of communities and now more vulnerable.

It is against this background that tomatoes farmers in Chinko Market, Danja local government area of Katsina state have expressed concern on the challenges facing their businesses, they said they are yet to receive any interventions from either the government or well-meaning individuals to boost the agribusiness despite the situation they are forced on.

The people who resorted to self-help for decades to survive on their own, feed their immediate families and pay both local, state and federal governments revenue promptly, said business has become more difficult due to the present situation in the nation.

Danja LGA and its environs depend on large farming production, mostly for commercial purposes. And due to its endowed rich fertility for agrarian practices, the land enticed over 125,740 inhabitants to cultivate maize, tomatoes, onions, rice and other foodstuffs in the nation.

But the most concerns of these farmers and traders is to provide facilities and enabling environment needed to process the food crops, especially those perishable items that need modern preservative facilities to enhance their businesses.

According to them, they only used the local method of preservation which is often time taking and difficult, reiterating that government to assist them with enough processing centres to boost the business in the state.

Speaking with our correspondent, the secretary, Market Association of Chinko, Danja LGA, Mallam Zakari Yakubu, lamented over the situation of farmers and businessmen in the area, expressing that the only factory the state government has established is not sufficient to provide the needed services for the people in the area.

He said, “Despite the small processing company government has established in Danja, the people are yet to receive any assistance from the government or any well-meaning individuals. The factory established has not been functioning properly. We want the government to help in reducing the waste of tomatoes in the business.”

Sami’u Alwali said he has been farming tomatoes for over 20 years, and the business has been profitable to him as he was able to build his house and feed his family. But the major challenge they are facing is the insufficient or lack of processing of the product because whenever they produced it in large quantity, they usually have difficulties in preservation.

He added that their concerns are the waste and poor storage facility in the area, hence the need for the concerned authority to assist them.

“The processing machine government established can only attempt to about 1,000 baskets of tomatoes in a day, and we are producing over 100,000 baskets in a day in this place. We want the government to expand the facility

“We usually take this product to the East, South and Southwest of the country, but the look-worm attitude of the government on the increasing fuel scarcity has also made life difficult for us farmers in the area who regularly transport goods and services to some part of the country. We, therefore call on the government to solve the high price of fuel in the country to make our lives better”, he said

Similarly, some labourers who work in the Chinko market every day to earn a living also appreciated the opportunity they got to survive the difficult situation the state and the country are facing. Abdullahi Ibrahim and Abba Tase, who sliced tomatoes daily basis, said they use to make from N2,000 to N3,000 in a day. And with this amount they feed and take care of their respective families.

Tasi’u Abubakar who is a renowned personality in the business of transporting tomatoes, also lamented the high cost of gas in Nigeria causing them a lot of losses in the business.

He explained, “You transport your goods and the profit always goes into the transport. Imagine, before we use to pay N300,000 to N400,000  and at most N600,000 on transportation, but now it doubled the price to over N1.7 million. The government should assist us and look into this challenge.

“Likewise, we have been paying revenue to the local, state and federal governments but we have never received any intervention or assistance from the government in this area. On daily basis, we used to load over 11 to 15 trucks with tomatoes in this market.

“Each truck before leaving this market must pay the local and the state government levies including the federal government revenue otherwise can’t be allowed.”

The Katsina State governor, Aminu Bello Masari, has established a Tomato Processing Company in Danja LGA saying it would boost irrigation farming in the state.

According to him, the project was implemented through a Public Private Partnership (PPP), adding that the decision was part of the efforts of his administration to boost irrigation, thereby creating job opportunities for the people.

He assured that his government would continue to accord top priority to agriculture to enhance productivity and guarantee food security and prevent rural-urban drift in the state.