Food security: Afe Babalola seeks support for mechanised farming

The Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Aare Afe Babalola, has called on state governments to support farmers with machanised farming equipment to curb food insecurity across the country.

Babalola also harped on the need for farmers to familiarise themselves with modern technologies for mass production of farm produce for the sustainability of food security.

The ABUAD founder made this call on Saturday in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, during the grand finale of the 9th edition of the Afe Annual Farmers Exhibition (formerly called Aare Afe Babalola Agric Expo), targeted at reviving the interest of the masses, educated folks, the rich, academics and others to invest in agriculture.

He called on the state governor, Biodun Oyebanji as well as the 16 local government authorities in the state to come to farmers’ aid by providing agricultural implements for farmers’ use.

Babalola said, “How many of us can buy modern equipment? The modern equipment enables rich and highly educated people to engage in large-scale modern agriculture, whereas, in Nigeria, we continue to use cutlasses and hoes, thereby engaging in small-scale farming.

“State governments should assist and advise local councils to purchase agricultural implements for farmers to hire.

“We must put pressure on the government to advise the Bank of Industry and Bank of Agriculture to assist farmer cooperative societies. The Federal Government should please encourage banks to give soft loans to agricultural cooperative societies.

“Farmers must form cooperative societies and use their lands as security to obtain soft loans from the Bank of Agriculture. The said cooperative societies can then buy modern agricultural implements which farmers can hire to enable them to engage in modern agriculture.”