Farmers’ association urges gov’t to prioritise Agric

By Maimuna Sey-Jawo The 2nd Vice president of the Network of Famers and Producers Association in West Africa (ROPPA), Momodou Lamin Fayenkeh, has called on the new government to give priority to agriculture and to ensure that quality seeds are available to famers. He said this will provide farmers adequate support to eradicate hunger and attain food self-sufficiency in the country. The Former NACOFA President was speaking at his office in Brikama in the West Coast Region. He said the political impasse has ended and that the coalition government should make sure that seeds are available to farmers particularly rural farmers before April, as the raining season is fast approaching. He said during the former regime, project coordinators and directors were diverting projects funds meant for farmers to purchase farm implements and using the said funds to buy new cars. He said this behavior should be history in the new government under the new leadership. The ROPPA 2nd Vice President added the Minister of Agriculture and other relevant stakeholders should call on experts to discuss on how to ensure the development of the sector. “Farmers should have access to seeds, be it in forms of loan or any other aspect and the government should ensure that there is market,” he noted, saying that in other countries farmers are well supported and they have access to bank and they are producing in large scale. Commenting on the significance of agriculture in nation building, the ROPPA Vice President noted that the government should also concentrate on irrigation system “as we cannot only depend on the raining season so that we can produce yearly round. We have to go for underground irrigation and river irrigation so that we can produce food all yearly round ranging from maize, millet and groundnut among other products.”]]>