By Jimoh Ahmed, Owo

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Farmers in the Akoko and Owo areas of Ondo State have described the lack of government support, especially in the provision of tractors, plough, and other simple implements, as the major obstacle facing those who intend to engage in large-scale farming.

According to them, this has hindered the area from fulfilling its dream of becoming the food basket of the country and a major supplier of food products.

Speaking on behalf of the farmers, the chairman of the Farmers Congress in Akoko Northeast local government, Mr. Johnson Oluduro, described the situation where there is no single functional tractor in the Akoko area as a serious setback to food production.

According to Oluduro, many unemployed youths are now prepared to go into farming for survival and livelihood, but the government is not providing support in the form of tractors and other farm inputs.

Another farmer from Okeagbe, Akoko, Mrs. Florence Adamolekun, urged both the federal and state governments to use money invested in palliatives to purchase tractors, ensuring at least one in each local government area to boost local food production.

Similarly, Mr. Adewale Farouq, a doctorate degree holder in Financial Management who has taken to farming as a profession, wants governments at all levels to provide the necessary assistance and support to those interested in farming.

Farouq stated that with the current economic crisis in Nigeria and other parts of the world, the country needs to take charge and become a solution provider in the global food crisis.

The trio urged the government to encourage farmers so that the skyrocketing prices of foodstuffs will decrease.