Why Kwara govt’s farm projects usually fail – farmers’ leader

Yussuf Mumeen Onimago, president of new era farmer’s union in Kwara State is 29, and started farming nine years ago. He grows soya beans, maize and cassava. In this interview, he shared his experience in the job and urged Nigerians to embrace farming as the way out of the present economic and unemployment woes. Excerpt… […]

Yussuf Mumeen Onimago, president of new era farmer’s union in Kwara State is 29, and started farming nine years ago. He grows soya beans, maize and cassava. In this interview, he shared his experience in the job and urged Nigerians to embrace farming as the way out of the present economic and unemployment woes. Excerpt…

What motivated you into farming as a youth?
I developed interest in farming after a training organised by the Kwara State government for youths some months ago on mechanised farming. This changed my orientation about farming. Initially, I thought farming was for old but now the training has exposed me and made me know that it does not require so much human labour because we can use machine to clear land, plant, harvest and package our products.
As a starter, where and how do you source for fund?
That is a very big challenge for us because for one to be a commercial farmer, which I was trained on, requires lot resources which are not available to farmers in Kwara State. Most of the machines we use in mechanised farming such as combined planter, combined harvester and tractors are difficult to get here.
When I started, I got fund from contributions by members of my family and friends. I convinced them with my training and make them belief that farming in large scale is money making venture that is profitable with assurance to refund them at the end of the year farming.
I was into partnership with those people I got money from when I started but now I have raised enough capital which I now use for my farming.
How has the state government supported you after the training you were given?
Although, the state government contributed in my training and with a startup capital, it later failed in redeeming all its promises. The state government has many projects on farmers in the state but we, the real farmers, were not involved in its planning and at the end, almost all of them failed. I regretted I participated in the state programme because it affected my production and reduce my production capacity.
What is your production capacity as a youth farmer?
From the beginning, I started with only two hectares of land and later grow to five hectares but with the state government programme, my production reduced.
What is your future plan in farming?
We are targeting between 300 to 350 hectares for our product in the next farming season. With my knowledge and equipment at my disposal in collaboration with other youth farmers, we are targeting feeding the whole nation.
How many employees do you have now?
I have five permanent staff, who are not Nigerians and 15 casual workers. I employed foreigners because they are hard-working and more reliable than most of the Nigerian youth.