Crop farmers in Kwara on Monday appealed to Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed for financial support to enhance their production.

Mr Dauda Raheem, a farmer at Oke-Oyi in Ilorin East Local Government Area, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Ilorin that the past two seasons posed serious challenges which led to poor harvest.

He said that the financial support from government would go a long way in ensuring increased food production and food security in the state.

“In the last two seasons, it has been very challenging due to the poor harvest, problem of adulterated seeds, crop failure and inability to expand our farm lands.

“Currently, I am operating on two hectares of land and yet all these problems and challenges have been causing setbacks.

“By now, if not for financial constraint, I should have been cultivating five hectares of farm lands,” he said.

Raheem said that there was the need for government to support farmers for increased food production.

“We only hear of yearly budgetary allocations to the agricultural sector without benefiting in form of soft loans.

“I wonder how people will be encouraged to go into farming with what we are experiencing,” he said.

Another crop farmer, Issa Nafiu in Oko Olowo in Ilorin, said that apart from the Growth Enhancement Scheme, they had not benefited from any other incentive or support from government.

“This is my 15th year as a farmer and I have always been the one to source for funds at any planting season.

“Most of government’s programmes are hardly backed by financial provision,” he said.

Nafiu told the NAN that many farmers who did not insure their farms bore the brunt of natural disasters alone.

A youth farmer in Oko Olowo, Yinka Oroye, said that with provision of soft loan to farmers, there would be enhanced productivity.