FEPAR releases report on FG inputs distribution to farmers

The report titled: “FCT Farmers Report Card” captured feedback from farmers on their service delivery experience under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES),  which gets inputs to farmers directly through their mobile phones.The report, based from December 16, 2013 and January 20, 2014 surveyed a total of 533 farmers […]

The report titled: “FCT Farmers Report Card” captured feedback from farmers on their service delivery experience under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES),  which gets inputs to farmers directly through their mobile phones.
The report, based from December 16, 2013 and January 20, 2014 surveyed a total of 533 farmers in the FCT. 320 were men while 213 were women. 62 non-GES farmers were also studied.
Other stakeholders such as Federal Fertiliser Department, International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC), Fertliser Supplier Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) and FCT federal ministry of agric Gwagwalada were also included in the survey.
Key findings of the study showed that 98% of the farmers in the FCT were happy with the introduction of the scheme. With this, the study said 94% of the farmers found it easy to access inputs while 77% of the farmers agreed they had improved yield from the inputs received under the GES.
70% of the farmers stated that they have no adequate information as to how long they had to wait in the centres before collecting their inputs. 56% found it difficult to make complaint to federal ministry of agriculture on poor services by input suppliers.
The report also highlighted major areas of concerns to farmers to include late roll out of inputs, inadequate inputs, the long awaiting time for the redemption  of input at most centres, inability of farmers to collect inputs from registered locations, and inadequate information on redemption process.
The recommendation of the report were that a periodic consultation with the farmers on the GES was necessary as this will help farmers to make meaningful inputs into the implementation of the scheme; Federal Government should introduce the GES calendar which will give timeline for registration and redemption times and improved communication strategy from government to farmers on the Growth Enhancement Scheme.