Farmers, agro processors lose incomes to coronavirus

Within the last three weeks of  lockdown in Nigeria due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the disease has done serious economic damage to millions of farmers and agro processors in the country. Already, all the sub-sectors of the nation’s agriculture are under intense pressure as they continue to incur heavy losses. Anger and frustration are building […]

Within the last three weeks of  lockdown in Nigeria due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the disease has done serious economic damage to millions of farmers and agro processors in the country.

Already, all the sub-sectors of the nation’s agriculture are under intense pressure as they continue to incur heavy losses.

Anger and frustration are building up among farming communities as they watch their investments go down the drain.

But the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Mohammed Sabo Nanono, while speaking with journalists in Abuja few days ago, said government was doing everything to ensure that the sector did not suffer.

“We are trying to make sure that farmers and agro processors do not suffer in terms of inputs and fertilisers, as well as other logistic problems that would arise. We are making sufficient arrangements to ensure that supply chains are not negatively affected by the shutdown,” he said.

But things are not going in that direction as farmers continue to tell their tales of sorrow.

 

Looming input scarcity

Many sellers who spoke with Daily Trust on Sunday said the lockdown had affected the supply of key farm inputs, leading to growing demands as crop farmers have begun production in some areas.

The national chairman of Agro-dealers Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Kabiru Umar Fara, said his members were still waiting for fertiliser to supply to farmers.

He said there were so many challenges that would continue to arise due to the lockdown, citing the closure of many financial institutions as another problem that would affect supply of inputs.

Although he said the issue of shutdown and restriction of agro-shops had been resolved with the Office of the National Security Adviser in order not to disrupt the delivery of essential input supplies for agricultural production, reports show that farmers continue to face harassment from law enforcement agents.

 

20 million poultry jobs at risk

Poultry farmers across the country are going through moments of frustration as their businesses are incurring huge losses due to the  lockdown.

The lockdown has created an unprecedented glut, leaving hundreds of thousands of eggs unsold.

Many farmers are also prevented from reaching their farms to feed the birds as is the case in Kaduna, according to the Poultry Association of Nigeria.

Dr. Anallo Akpa, the director-general, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), in a chat with Daily Trust on Sunday in Abuja, expressed the frustration and anger of the association over what his members are going through at the moment. He said the lockdown was affecting the farmers in many ways.

“One, a few days back, some of my members were locked up in Kaduna by the police because they were going to their farms. They had their identity cards which they showed to the police but the task force insisted that they should go back. Now, how do you attend to the birds because they need water, feeds and medicare.

“Secondly, because of the lockdown and restriction in inter-state movement, you find out that people who are coming from Kebbi, Zamfara and other places to Kaduna to pick eggs, and those from Lokoja to pick eggs in Abuja are not allowed pass.

“We have a situation where some farmers have 20,000 crates of eggs unsold. You will have to sell those eggs before you can have money to buy feeds and drugs and pay for other overhead costs,” Dr. Akpa lamented.

Most of the farmers who spoke with our reporters lamented that 90 per cent of those in the business of eggs like hotels, roadside tea vendors and retail shops have been shut down, creating the current market woes. The situation, they said, would lead to many poultry farmers going out of production when the pandemic is over.

While listing the dangers in shutting down the poultry industry, Dr. Akpa, said 20 million jobs were at serious risk.

According to him, over 20 million people are employed directly or indirectly in the industry, and if anything happens to the industry, it would have a devastating impact on the economy because of the multiplier effect of the poultry value chain, which will affect maize and soybeans that make up over 70 per cent of the industry feeds.

Now, most of the farmers are selling their birds because they can’t afford to feed them as a result of their inability to sell eggs, which enable many farmers to recurrently run the farms.

The farmers called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to include eggs in their food intervention.

 

Tomato farmers in pains

Just like poultry farmers, those who engage in fresh produce are also counting losses in millions.

Tomatoes, a highly perishable vegetable, are rotting away as most of the larger consuming states like Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja are affected by the lockdown.

The closure of hotels, restaurants and restriction of movement have resulted in huge loss of income, something that will impact negatively on farmers in the coming months.

Alhaji Abdullahi Ringim, the national president of Tomato Growers and Processors Association, said farmers had incurred monumental losses because once you harvest tomatoes, you either process it or consume it.

“In some places where tomatoes got to the markets, the farmers and sellers were chased away, which means total loss, not only for  tomato farmers but also for transporters. Some trucks arrived in Lagos and Abuja before the lockdown but they could not take tomatoes to  markets. Once they got to the market, they would start harassing them and the market would be locked. That’s a colossal loss to them,” he said.

He said those that harvested in the states could not sell elsewhere, adding that the prices of tomatoes had collapsed completely.

According to him, these spell doom for farmers that have taken loans to go into production because they will not be able to pay back such loans when the pandemic is over.

Mr Samuel Aende, a greenhouse tomato farmer in Masaka, Nasarawa State, told Daily Trust on Sunday in Abuja that the major problem was that end users were no longer available.

He said the closure of hotels, restaurants and other industries using tomatoes had collapsed the demand for the product.

Mr. Aende predicted shortage of the product when the pandemic is over because inputs for production are not available for subsequent production.

Similarly, Mr. Dung Pajok, a tomato farmer in Jos, said the lockdown had re-written the fortunes of farmers, adding that many buyers were skeptical about spending their money on anything now because nobody could tell when the pandemic would end.

Everywhere, the story is the same with those in vegetable production. Until the disease is brought under control, more complicated and difficult days await farmers.