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People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has promised to improve farmers’ credit and access to agricultural machinery to boost agricultural production if he is elected president of Nigeria.
Abubakar made the pledge at the launch of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) tricycle in Abuja on Tuesday, in partnership with Farinchiki He Nigeria Ltd and his Sanguo Motors in South Korea.
Abu Bakar, headed by Ibrahim Bashir, said that as a stakeholder who understands agriculture well, he believes agriculture is one of the safest parts of economic development.
Abubakar said in a book titled ‘A Pledge with Nigerians’ that they pledged to pursue policies of diversification, support for the development of commercial-driven technologies, and good agriculture and agricultural knowledge.
He believes this will ensure food security, interface between farmers and manufacturers for the supply of raw materials, and lead to modern adventures that are productive and competitive. He said such adventures would lead to job creation and poverty reduction.
“By the grace of God, if Abubakar is elected president, he will increase agricultural production from 41.13 trillion today to about 55 trillion by 2030.
“This means that from 2023 to 2030, the annual growth rate of the agricultural sector will be 3.7%, up from 2.1% today.
“If Abubakar receives a mandate, he has committed to increasing access to financial services for the agricultural sector through NAISRA, in the history of lending to the sector by commercial agricultural banks.
“The overall goal is to improve the financial capacity of farmers and other agricultural producers to adopt new technologies that increase yields and make them more resilient to economic shocks.”
small scale farming
Abubakar also pledged to support and involve women by providing loans for low-income households with a range of working capital needed for smallholder farming and traditional processes. He promised to provide facilities to procure machinery and equipment to assist in the establishment of cottage and small scale industries.
“This will go a long way in creating county-level employment opportunities in all 774 municipalities across the country.”
He acknowledged the government and people of South Korea partnering with AFAN and FarinCiki Nigeria Ltd to manufacture customized vehicles to make the lives of Nigerian farmers easier.
He said he hopes the partnership, especially the new tricycle, will bring good luck to AFAN, Nigerian farmers and South Korean partners.