The Chairperson of the Ojo Farmers Community, Mrs Mayriam Ali, has called on the government to strengthen support for farmers through increased access to mechanisation, irrigation facilities and soft loans to boost food production in Lagos State.
Ali made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.
While commending the Lagos State Government for its ongoing interventions, including fertiliser distribution, farm visits and other agricultural support programmes, she said greater investment was needed to address challenges limiting productivity.
According to her, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture regularly visits farming communities to assess their needs and evaluate the impact of government interventions.
“The Lagos State Government has been doing well. The commissioner visits farms and asks us what we need instead of just distributing items without monitoring.
“We have also benefited from fertiliser distribution and other support programmes, and we appreciate those efforts,” she said.
Ali, however, noted that the increasing number of farmers in Ojo had created a greater demand for mechanised farming services, particularly tractors and other modern equipment.
She said farmers often spent large sums hiring tractors because the available government-owned machines were insufficient to meet demand.
“We need more tractors in Ojo. The cost of clearing land manually is very high.
“We do not mind paying for tractor services, but there should be enough machines because the available ones cannot serve everybody,” she said.
She recalled that members of her association once spent about N300,000 clearing farmland manually after they were unable to secure a government tractor when it was needed.
Ali urged the government to establish more tractor hiring centres to improve access to mechanised farming services across agricultural communities.
She also identified inadequate irrigation facilities as a major constraint to vegetable production, particularly during the dry season.
According to her, greater investment in irrigation systems, water pumps and drainage infrastructure would support year-round farming and reduce crop losses caused by flooding.
Transportation, she added, remains another significant challenge, with many farmers struggling to move fresh produce from farms to markets.
She said the provision of affordable vehicles dedicated to transporting farm produce would help reduce post-harvest losses and improve market access.
Ali also advocated the provision of soft loans tied directly to agricultural equipment and farm inputs rather than cash disbursements.
“If the government gives us the equipment we actually need instead of cash, we are ready to work and increase production,” she said.
She appealed to the Federal Government to complement the efforts of the Lagos State Government by providing additional support to farmers across the state.
According to her, stronger collaboration between both levels of government would boost food production, enhance food security and encourage more people to embrace agriculture.
Ali expressed confidence that sustained investment in mechanisation, irrigation, transportation and other critical farming inputs would enable farmers in Ojo to expand cultivation and contribute to a more stable food supply for Lagos residents.
Source:NAN
