The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has distributed over 11,000 bags of fertiliser to Enugu farmers – for free. The incentives were shared earlier today at Oloko Gate near Old Artisans market in New Haven, with hundreds of farmers across the state in attendance.
Speaking during the distribution, the president of Enugu State Young Farmers Association (ENSYFA), Hon Kenneth Eze, said the gifts wouldn’t have been possible safe that a “farmers’ friend in the person of His Excellency Dr Peter Ndubisi Mbah” was on seat. Mr Eze further thanked the governor and the leadership of AFAN.
“I’m so happy today. ENSYFA has joined in making history in the state today. Therefore, on behalf of the great association I would want to thank the governor of Enugu State, His Excellency Dr Ndubisi Mbah. He made this possible.
“We remain ever grateful to the state Honourable commissioner for Agriculture, Patrick Nwabueze Ubru for his guidance and fatherly love,” Mr Eze said.
Also extending gratitude to the leadership of AFAN, Mr Eze said that the “reality on ground” has convinced him that Governor Mbah is indeed very committed to making Enugu State the food basket of Nigeria.
A number of beneficiaries also took time to extend gratitude to Mbah-led administration and to commend the unusual transparency which ENSYFA president exhibited throughout the exercise.
One of them, Mrs Eberechukwu Obieze, who is from Udi local government area, noted she hasn’t seen “anything like this before”.
“I thank the AFAN (leadership), and the Governor of Enugu State His Excellency Ndubisi Mbah; I thank the commissioner for Agriculture, our President Kenneth Eze and all those who ensure that we receive this incentives.
“We know that sometimes, when a help like this come some people channel them somewhere else,” Mrs Obieze said.
For so long farmers have been grossly neglected in Enugu state, with the wealthy businessmen in the city and the politicians often having to sit on the poor farmers’ palliatives to divert them. But today, with the guidelines from the governor, the notoriety is gradually becoming a thing of the past. According to ENSYFA president, extreme care had been taken to ensure the beneficiaries are real farmers, and not “political farmers.” And the call for the general public to freely register for AFAN fertiliser has been widely publicised for more than a month.
For years, AFAN has been at the forefront, paving the way for prosperity for all farmers across Nigeria. The immediate past President of Enugu State chapter of AFAN, Romanus Eze, set the highest standard in line with the national goal of fostering food security in the country. And the success of today’s exercise only highlights the priority the current state chairman of the association, Chief Nnambueze, places in meeting Governor Peter Mbah’s target in agriculture sector.