Rural Farmers Decry Fertiliser Scarcity

Farmers in Rivers State
have lamented their inability to access fertilizer for their crops  in the state during the planting season.
The farmer, who spoke to our correspondent in separate interviews said the scarcity of the commodity was hampering their yield in their effort of making food available to their families and the public as a whole. Uche Linus is a mixed crop farmer from Etche local government council of Rivers State, while baring his mind on the ugly development, explained that the only place where fertilizer can be found is at the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) Rumuodomaya in Obio/Akpor local government area of the state.
According to him, farmers in the state find it difficult to access fertilizer, especially when it entails travelling to Port Harcourt from the rural areas to buy the product.
Another farmer who spoke to The Tide, Mr Oyeni Obugo from Abua said, fertilizer was needed mostly by rural farmers that cultivate one portion of land over and over again in succeeding years.
He said due to the non availability of land, farmers are forced to farm again on the same piece of land as a means to harvest new crops.
However, The Tide gathered that the ADPs in the state are not working as expected, a development the state government has vowed to look into with a view of putting things in order at the agency.
In a recent interview with The Tide, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Barr. Onimim Briggs, assured that the government has put necessary machinery in motion to revamp the ADPs in Ahoada, Rumuodomaya, and other agric agencies across the state.