THE National President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Dr Farouk Rabiu Mudi, has reaffirmed the association’s support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly the Federal Government’s efforts to transform Nigeria’s agricultural sector and achieve food security.
News Point Nigeria reports that Mudi, who stated this at a press conference, said AFAN, as the apex body for farmers, commodity associations, cooperatives and related bodies in Nigeria, was committed to partnering with the present administration to address food security and unlock the country’s vast agricultural potential.
He said Nigeria was blessed with more than 70 million hectares of farmland, noting that some previously ungoverned spaces had over time been occupied by unfriendly enemies. According to him, although the previous administration made serious efforts to reclaim those spaces, the determination of the present administration to secure farmlands had provided relief for many farmers through the coordinated efforts of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s security architecture.
Mudi said the partnership between the Ministry of Defence and AFAN had similarly become a game changer for farmers, as many were beginning to return to their farmlands.
He added that Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps were witnessing transformation, while most displaced persons had been returned to their homes, describing the approach as commendable.
“In appreciation, General Christopher Gwaban Musa was conferred with the title of Patron of AFAN recently, which was widely celebrated in Abuja,” he said.
The AFAN president disclosed that the partnership between the association and the Federal Ministry of Defence had also facilitated an agricultural study tour to Brazil for some of the association’s executives, where they participated in the country’s annual trade exhibition, Cotrijal.
According to him, the objective of the tour was to identify innovations that could help Nigerian farmers return to their farms and develop more creative ways of supporting people still living in IDP camps.
Mudi further announced that AFAN, under his leadership, was set to host the Nigerian-Brazilian International Agricultural Exhibition in collaboration with the Kano State Government and the Kano State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KACCIMA) in November this year.
He said the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the Ministry of Livestock Development, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were all collaborating on the initiative.
According to him, the initiative is aimed at transforming Nigeria’s agriculture and livestock sectors from subsistence farming to mechanised agriculture capable of making the country the hub of agriculture within the West African sub-region.
The AFAN president said the innovation of collaborating with Brazilian farmers, coupled with the intention of AFAN and the Federal Government to deploy more resources towards out-grower schemes and blended finance, would help uplift the agricultural and livestock sectors.
He noted that many nations practising such systems had recorded prosperity and increased annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“Our effort to partner with the federal government agencies, the private sector and development partners will see us leapfrog into the most attractive destination in farming in a few years, because we have enough farmlands and willing hands ready to embrace farming in commercial quantity for export to other nations in large volumes,” he said.
Mudi said AFAN remained open to ideas and innovations capable of supporting smallholder farmers, adding that with the efforts of various state governments through agricultural extension services, the association would ensure that the vision of the present administration to address food security succeeds.
He used the occasion to thank President Tinubu for the establishment of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the Ministry of Livestock Development and the Ministry of Blue Economy, as well as for the funding of the NAGS-AP Project, the Nigerian Agricultural Development Fund and the Bank of Agriculture.
He said the initiatives, if properly managed, would transform Nigeria’s agricultural sector immensely.
Mudi also called on all AFAN members to key into the vision of the association and the Federal Government by leveraging the innovations introduced by the administration, seeking guidance and support and partnering with relevant government agencies for national rebirth.
“At this juncture, I urge all our members nationwide to support the agricultural transformation of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, in order to unlock the good potentials that God has given us,” he said.
He thanked members of the press for listening and concluded with AFAN’s rallying message: “No Farmer, No Nation.”