Only 20,000 out of the 120,000 registration forms allocated to farmers under the Edo farmers census have so far been returned, Mr. Abdul Oroh, the commissioner for Agriculture, has said.

The commissioner, who disclosed this in Auchi in an interview with newsmen expressed concern about the situation.

“With the three weeks extension for the exercise gradually coming to an end, many farmers in Edo State were still not too keen to participate in the census.”

He appealed to them to take the advantage of the exercise and register their names, saying there were several benefits from the exercise.

“Our farmers should not miss this opportunity; as the government plans to deal directly with registered farmers by cutting-off the activities of middlemen.

“If fertilisers, seedlings, and other farm inputs are to be sold, farmers would be directly informed though the data provided in their registration forms.”

The commissioner explained that the decision of the government to key into the Federal Governemnt’s Agriculture Transformation Action Plan (ATAP), was to reduce poverty and attain food security.

“We are keying into the Federal Government’s agriculture transformation agenda for three reasons: to ensure for security, create wealth and employment opportunities.