Farmers protest exclusion from FG’s 5-year plan on Irish potatoes
The Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria (POFAN) has faulted the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development over its exclusion from the launch of a 5-year rolling plan on Irish potatoes.
The National President (POFAN), Chief Daniel Okafor, expresseddispleasure while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.
Okafor said that in spite of the effort by POFAN to reposition potato status in the country, the ministry had yet to recognise its effort, adding that such an attitude was discouraging and unpleasant to members.
”It beats my imagination that all the efforts we made to reposition potato status, including running a training programme for free in Plateau and other states, are not recognised.
”Not even the POFAN chairman in Plateau was invited to the launch of the programme. POFAN is not contacted for any of the programmes across the states.
“Recall that it was our organisation that brought the issue of Irish potatoes in the Plateau to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
“We collaborated with the Netherlands and pursued it until they expressed interest. Who then are the farmers they discovered to work with?” he queried.
Okafor, however, said that there seemed to be some undertones to excluding the association, adding that POFAN had played a pivotal role in ensuring the sustainability of Irish potatoes in the country.
“I am complaining because you know the role my organisation played; that’s what we get from these people after suffering for them with an open mind.
“It’s a disaster and a pity that POFAN was not carried along. This is the same Ministry we presented a proposal to penultimate week in a meeting we had with them just before the launch.
He said POFAN inaugurated a 10-year rolling plan two years ago to which they were invited, adding that the ministry was not unaware of its contribution in the potato agri-food subsector.
He said the ministry had been sidelining POFAN in its own programme.
”We shall soon come out in a different way to protest it. It’s becoming unbecoming.”
