Small-Scale Farmers Face Difficulty in Accessing Agricultural Policies
Small-scale farmers are said to be facing challenges in accessing and benefiting from government agricultural policies and practices despite that they account for over 80 per cent in the country.
The President, Association of Small-Scale Agro Producers in Nigeria (ASSAPIN), Bauchi state chapter, Alhaji Ahmed Jalam, who made the observation when he led members of the Association on a courtesy visit to Bauchi State House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture said that "because our members are scattered and isolated, they have faced marginalisation, exclusion and disempowerment over time".
While appealing to the federal and state governments to place high premium on increasing their budgetary allocations to Agriculture, Jalam noted that "in view of the continuous nose-diving nature of budgetary allocations to the agriculture sector, the 2003 AU Maputo Declaration of a minimum of 10 per cent of national budget for agriculture cannot be over emphasised."
US Department of Agriculture