Buy tractors, Stop buying SUVs, Ogun poultry farmers tell govt

Lawal said that the truth remains that only very few are in the business of food production for over 200 million Nigerians saying that except the government shows committed interest in encouraging mechanised farming, food insecurity will continue to grow and worsen while prices of foodstuff will continually soar higher.

The PANOG Chairman said that rather than buying SUVs, governments at all levels should invest in the purchase of tractors, harvesters among others that could aid in the massive cultivation of vast arable land the country is blessed with to boost food production and tackle the challenge of hunger in the land.

He disclosed this at a press briefing held on Wednesday at the poultry farmers’ Secretariat in Abeokuta, the state capital.

The association equally blamed the “Emergency backyard poultry farmers” and middlemen for the reported high prices of chicken sold during the Yuletide explaining that their members never sold their chickens above N15,000 as against between N25,000 and N30,000 reported cost of a chicken during the December festive period.

Lawal said, “To solve the food insecurity crisis the country currently grapples with, governments at all levels must address the problem of insecurity. People must feel secure to go about their farming business.

“Secondly, let the government embrace mechanised farming, let them stop buying SUVs but tractors, and harvesters that can be used to clear our vast arable and fertile land, especially in the South-West. Palliatives can never help us, only mechanised farming will save us from the food crisis.

The newly elected Chairman of the Poultry Association of Ogun State, Yinka Lawal on Wednesday urged governments at all levels in Nigeria to stop wasting money on frivolities in the year 2025 but prioritise genuine commitment to boost food production through mechanised farming.