Bad Season Leads to Nigerian Cotton Farmers Seeking Government Assistance
- Tayo Johnson
- Jan 21, 2017
- 1 min read
Cotton farmers in Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State have called on the federal and state governments to come to their aid over the huge losses they suffered due to bad access roads and poor financial motivation. Members of Oke-Ogun Cotton Growers Association said they met a lot of disappointment from the banks that urged them on from the start of the season and neglected them midway into the farming season.
Balogun of Ago Amodu in Saki East Local government area, Chief Stephen Fatokun, speaking for the farmers, said many people in the community went into cotton farming when they heard of federal government’s promise to assist farmers as part of an economic diversification project of the present administration.
“They asked us to go back to farm because agriculture is the next mainstay of the economy. We heeded this call and invited our children that have traveled to the cities in pursuit of green pastures to come back home. But what we got is the rejection from banks that had earlier promised us loans and little or no backing from the federal and state governments.
Ollivier Girard/CIFOR
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