Business
Agric Sector Dev: Farmers Recommend Modern Agric Practices
An agricultural cooperative, the Port Harcourt Glorious Harvesters Cooperative Society (PHGHCS) has called for the development of the agricultural sector of the nation’s economy by adopting modern agricultural practices.
President of the Cooperative, Amos Ogbu made this call in a chat with The Tide, in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
Ogbu lamented that farmers were not earning as much as they are putting into the farming occupation, adding that they bear a heavy cost on different farm produce due to lack of modern facilities in the sector.
According to him, farmers sell their produce at prices 50-55 per cent lower than what it costs them to Produce the crop stating, that it calls for special attention by government to urgently modernise the agricultural sector.
He explained that a lot of the farm produce get rotten due to lack of modern storage facilities and as many fruits and vegetables cannot be all “year-round” produce.
He Ogbu noted that farmers could also not get bank facilities due to the insecurity of the sector, saying, “We cannot get bank loans because the banks are not sure what your harvest would be like after the harvest”.
He called for assistance from the government to help farmers expand the farm capacity and improve their operational conditions for better yield and increased produce.
Tonye Nria-Dappa