A farmer from Gbako Local Government Area of Niger, Mr Mathias Tsado, has said that the lingering fuel scarcity would likely affect dry season farming.
Tsado, who disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gbako on Wednesday said that many of the dry season farmers in the area depend on water pumping machines to get water to their farms.
“We cannot afford to buy a litre of fuel for N500 or N600 and also carry out other farm expenses, it means that we will be running at a loss.
“Before now we purchased fuel at N165 per litre but now if you manage to get it, aside from the increased price it may be adulterated fuel that will damage your engine.
“I am appealing to the Federal Government to tackle the issue of fuel scarcity to help the dry season farmers achieve their target,” he said.
He decried the fuel scarcity, saying that if not tackled would lead to low yield in food production this year.
“The current fuel scarcity has brought untold hardship to our rural communities, especially the dry season farmers,” he said.
Tsado said that there was an urgent need for the government to confront the menace because of its impact on the country’s economy.
“The lingering fuel crisis is gradually shooting up inflation rate in the country as public transport fare has increased, which in turn affected foodstuffs.
“Sincerely, rural communities are in a terrible situation, what we are facing now has crippled our dry season farming,” he said.
The farmer, however, acknowledged the efforts of the government for the success recorded so far in agriculture, such as the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP), Farmers Money among other interventions.
He advised the government to act fast on the petrol scarcity issue so as not to erode the gains recorded in the agriculture sector.
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