Farmers Blame High Garri Price On Inputs’ Scarcity

Some farmers in Rivers State have attributed the high cost of cassava flour, also known  as garri, to the non-availability  of  farm  inputs.
The farmers who spoke in a recent event to brainstorm over the high cost of the commodity in Port Harcourt,  said the development could also be  attributed to the  reduction of manpower in contrast to the needed quantity for the teeming  population.
They, however, called on the relevant authorities and  other stakeholders to do the needful to redeem  the state from the situation.
According to them, it was  out of place  to buy garri at  exorbitant  prices, especially in notable garri producing  areas.
An indigenous farmer in the state, Mr. Clement Amadi, who  spoke to The Tide opined that the number  of farmers producing  garri  was not  commensurate with those consuming the product.
He called on every Nigerian to engage in farming, irrespective of their occupations.
“In those days, we had enough farmers who produced  cassava  but today, a lot of people are  out of it.
“This I think is because they are government workers”, he said.
A retired oil servicing company workers Mr. Irobikansi Uche, said the method  used  in farming at the present time  needed to be upgraded, to commercial agriculture.
“This nation has outgrown  predominantly manual agriculture method and we should  look at mechanised farming system,” he said.
However, an agricultural business consultant, Mr. Alozie  Loveday, faulted the attitude of farmers in the repayment of loans given to them.
He said such attitude  by some farmers had been a  major  factor that could  discourage the necessary agencies from giving out loans to farmers.
“It is no longer subsistence farming but massive  production of cassava, and those farmers who receive loans are no longer paying  as at when due,” he said.
Earlier, the commissioner for Agriculture, Rivers State, Mrs. Onimim Jacks, and her  Youth Development counterpart, Mr. Princewill  Ogbobula said the  state was bent on assisting farmers  to attain food security.

Stories by King Osila