Farmers Commend FG’s Import Duty Waiver On Essential Commodities

SEYI TAIWO-OGUNTUASE

farmers and stakeholders have commended the Federal Government’s directive that tariffs and other import duties should be removed on rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, drugs, as well as other pharmaceutical and medical supplies for the next six months, in the first instance, to help drive down prices.

The stakeholders also pointed out that the six months’ timeline should be adhered to and should not be extended in order not to negatively affect the local farmers.

Dr. Oluwashina Olabanji, a former Executive Director, Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI), in his reaction, said that the removal of tariffs and other import duties on rice, wheat, maize, and sorghum is a child of necessity and must be a temporary measure to protect local production.

“No doubt the escalated prices of these commodities have gone beyond what most Nigerians can bear due to production challenges in the country,” Olabanji said.

He said that short time measures like opening of windows for importation of the commodities for about six months is necessary to bring down the escalated prices and make food available and affordable for Nigerians.

Femi Oke, Chairman of the All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Lagos State chapter, in his reaction, commended the Federal Government over the duty removal, stating that it is a welcome development, which will reduce the high prices of commodities in the market, thereby making things affordable for the citizens.

Dr. Taiwo Adeoye, Managing Director of Rostal Resources, in his view, said that the initiative is a welcome development, adding that the government should ensure that importers pass the concession to the users or customers accordingly.

Adeoye said: “Hitherto, this gesture was not passed appropriately to the end-users or customers but for over profiteering by importers.

“Though Forex will also be a major determining factor, appropriate government agencies should sit down with intending importers and do the cost analysis of import of the items.”

Wale Oyekoya, Managing Director of BamaFarms said that it is a welcome idea but at the same time, he believes there should be a time limit so that it doesn’t affect the local content.

He said that the suspension of import duties on the food items would lift some burdens off the masses.

Oyekoya , however, advised the Federal Government to support food production and that the population which is supposed to be an advantage to the country should be encouraged to produce food that will feed the populace, stressing that the environment has not been conducive to farming.

Dr. Biodun Onalaja, Chairman/CEO of OkunRice, in his reaction, said that it is a good idea but that it may not materialise if the right action is not taken.

“I believe the best that can be taken is to grant the rice millers the licence to import rice paddy to the country without import duties being charged, so as to complement the locally-grown paddy to enable adequate process and supply of rice at a very low price.

“But any attempt to sideline those in the field will automatically result in failure, as after six months, things will go back to normalcy. Moreso, I implore the Federal Government to encourage rice farmers to improve in the rice paddy farming.

“For instance, the South-West has suitable land for rice farming situated in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Kogi and states but the farmers are not really getting the support of the Federal Government. If they are encouraged, rice farmers in Nigeria can produce enough rice paddies to cater to the demands for rice in Nigeria,” Onalaja said.

Shakin Agbayewa, Deputy Chairman, AFAN, Lagos State chapter, said that it is a smart move from the Federal Government.

He said the announcement is capable of killing the local production, if not well implemented.

“The question is after six months, what’s next?  The truth of the matter is that it is just a short time solution. I know that the immediate past President shut the borders and encouraged farmers to go into rice production. A lot of people have secured loans, they have been moving into the farms to plant rice.

However, President Bola Tinubu also during his nationwide broadcast on the ongoing protest, said that Federal Government will provide all necessary incentives for this initiative, while the states provide the land, which will put millions of our people to work and further increase food production

Olabanji  in his reaction on this said that there are interventions from governments, both Federal and States, through provision of inputs such as: seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, among others, to farmers.

He noted, however, that “There is need for more investments in agriculture if the nation is to be food secured.

“The challenging areas where massive investments are required apart from the input supply, according to him, are: mechanization, extension services, irrigation infrastructure, among others, to enable farmers to grow crops throughout the year, processing and marketing.

Oyekoya noted that most of the palliative that the federal government is rolling out is not getting to the masses, stressing that Nigerians should stop putting all the blames on the Federal Government that the people that are very close to the grassroots are the governors and the local government.

“I think there should be more accountability from the local government,” he said

Also, Oke stated that “the incentives to farmers are good but are yet to be received, except the fertilizer given to us by members of the House of Representative and senators.”

In his view, Adeoye said that except there is a transparent and very honest monitoring group, these incentive or palliatives will not have the desired effects.

According to him, “The corruption disease in Nigeria has not helped the good intentions of the government most times. For instance, since the government started distributing fertilizers, how many genuine farmers got the fertilisers? The same fertilisers were found in the marketplace for sale.

“A farmer that needs 200 bags, for example, but was given four bags, what does that amount to in his operations? The same goes with the palliatives. A poultry farmer that uses, for instance five metric tons of feeds per day, will need two-and-a-half metric tons of maize per day, but was given four bags of 100 kg maize as palliatives.

“The government needs to review all of these strategies that are not bringing expected results. There are better ways to make their programmes work and stop making some people super rich. Genuine and honest farmers should be identified, invited to sit with government officials who are not corrupt to eliminate ‘the sharing formula  with the farmers’ representatives and the government agencies in charge of the so-called palliatives.

Similarly, Onalaja said that they claimed to have provided for the farmers but it did not really get to the real farmers.

“It is the farmers that can help solve these issues. Farmers can increase the volume of rice paddy if they get real support from the Federal Government,” Onalaja added.

Kabir Ibrahim, President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria said that the Federal Government approved so many support windows for farmers which include supply of 2.1 million bags of fertilizer by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) free of charge to farmers, free seeds to farmers and the procurement of farm machinery from Belarus among others.

He said it is all work in progress and the look forward to transparent implementation of the programmes.

It would be recalled that President Tinubuduring his broadcast to the Nation on Protest said that his administration is providing incentives to farmers to increase food production at affordable prices.

He said that he has directed that tariffs and other import duties should be removed on rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, drugs, and other pharmaceutical and medical supplies for the next six months, in the first instance, to help drive down the prices.

“I have been meeting with our Governors and key Ministers to accelerate food production. We have distributed fertilisers. Our target is to cultivate more than 10 million hectares of land to grow what we eat.

“The Federal Government will provide all necessary incentives for this initiative, whilst the states provide the land, which will put millions of our people to work and further increase food production. In the past few months, we have also ordered mechanized farming equipment such as tractors and planters, worth billions of Naira from the United States, Belarus, and Brazil. I can confirm to you that the equipment is on the way.”