Rotimi Agboluaje, Ibadan
A professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Victor Olusegun Okoruwa, has urged government to play a vital role in agricultural productivity in the country by giving incentives to farmers in order to improve their productivity.
The agricultural economists, who noted the sector is critical to national development, said it was urgent to support farmers with soft loan.
Okoruwa stated this during the 404th and fifth in the series of inaugural lectures for the 2016/2017 academic sessions, which took place at Trenchard Hall of the premier university.
Though the university teacher said government incentives to boost farmers inputs has become rife with corruption, ineptitude and accountability gaps in the distribution of the subsidy, he insisted that the farmers must be supported.
According to the professor, the incentives include infrastructure such as good road networks, electricity, credit facilities and irrigation facilities.
“It is a seemingly consensus that, to increase productivity, farmers have to be given incentives. However, the input costs, has become rife with corruption ineptitude and accountability gaps in distribution of subsidies.
“The Nigeria government should also give subsidies to producers of inputs in order to take care of the farm gate prices and eliminate some key transaction costs, such as transportation and distribution costs” he said.
He suggested a package of basic production inputs that should be provided to include.
” Basic production input containing seeds, fertilizer and pesticide and improve agronomic practices in an appropriate mix should be provided”.
