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Flood: Govt to succour Ogbese farmers

Flood: Govt to succour Ogbese farmers

By Kehinde Oluwatayo
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Ondo State Commissioner for Agriculture, Otunba Adegboyega Adefarati has assured farmers in the state who lost their farms to flood last week that the needful will be done to reduce their burden.

   Adefarati who gave the assurance yesterday when he went for an on the spot assessment of the extent of the damage, described it as a massive loss.

   He said he went to the farm with the officials of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other relevant agencies to know where assistance can come for the farmers.

    Adefarati who noted that the state government will forward its request to the  Federal Ministry of Agriculture assured that there is a fund in Abuja that takes care of this type of occurrence.

 The Commissioner  described members of Akure Divine Grace whose 20 hectares of rice farm has been covered with flood as passionate and need to be encouraged.

 In the farm of Mr Toyin Abolade where over 30 percent of the farm has been washed away, the Commissioner said the state will not go to the north to buy vegetables if there are 300 people with such investment in the state.

 He described the situation as a pathetic one and assured that the farmers will be assisted to cushion the effect of the loss.

He called on the farmers to endeavour to insure their farms since natural disasters can occur anytime adding that farmers will smile if they insure their farms with the new look of insurance policy in the country.

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   Adefarati who said the insurance company in charge of farmers whose farms were insured will take care of the loss stressed that those whose were not insured will also have assistance.

Conducting the commissioner round the affected farms, State Project Coordinator of FADAMA, Mr Olusiji Olatunji said the rice farmers were supported by FADAMA last year, but took loan this year for another cycle of production.

 According to him, 600 tonnes can be made from an hectare if the yield is good adding that some of the farmers were attracted by the profit they made last year.

The Chief Agriculture Officer of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Rice Desk Officer of the ministry who were with the commissioner on the assessment tour promised to report the incident back to the state Director.

In Asolo in Uso, the Federated FADAMA Community Association who lost about 250 hectares said they took N91m loan under the CBN Anchor Borrowers Scheme of the Federal Government through the Bank of Agriculture.

  According to them, the farm was insured and the insurance company had visited the place and asked them to report officially to the company.

Leader of Akure Divine Grace in Ayede Ogbese comprising of 10 youths, Miss Joy Achebeta said they borrowed money to what they made last year to extend their farm from 10 hectares to 20 hectares adding that they have lost about N12million to the flood.

She called on government to come to their aid, so that they can pay their loan back.

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   A vegetable farmer in Oke Agunla in Ogbese, Mr Toyin Abolade said his farm of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, pepper and cabbage covers 11 hectares adding that he has lost about nine million naira to the flood.

  While calling on government to assist him since the farm was not insured, he promised to embrace insurance as a way of reducing the burden of occurrences like this.

 Abolade who said he had farm in the area for 26 years noted that he was amazed when it happened adding that such an occurrence has not happened to him.

   It would be recalled that over 600 rice farm was reportedly covered by flood last week in the Uso/ Ogbese axis of the state.

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