Business
Flood: AFAN Tasks FG, States On Farmers’ Compensation
The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has appealed to the federal and state governments to compensate farmers who are affected by flood in different states across the country.
The Vice-President of AFAN,Chief Daniel Okafor, made the call in an interview with newsmen in Abuja yesterday.
Okafor, who is also the National President of Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria (POFAN), lamented that many farms had been submerged by flood, while crops worth millions of naira were consequently destroyed.
He said that farmers in Delta, Anambra, Kogi, Niger states, among others, were badly affected by the flood, adding that the development would hinder food production in the states.
He noted that crops in many farms across the states were washed off by floods, causing the farmers to lose a lot of money.
He said that potato, cassava, fish and rice farmers were largely affected in the states.
“As we speak, some farmers and our members are dying because of frustration. Government should go to these places to assist and compensate them because they have lost a lot.
“The standard of living of farmers is decreasing. Some of the farmers have packed out from their houses, while others have abandoned their farms because of the havoc which the floods wreaked on the farms,’’ he said.
Okafor also appealed to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) to live up to their expectations by coming to the aid of the afflicted farmers.