Abuja — Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Dr. Abba Ruma, said yesterday that the Federal Government has earmarked the sum of N250 billion as grant to help the Nigerian farmers sustain their productivity.

The Minister said the grant is to cushion the effects of the global food crisis, declining prices of crude oil and fall in expected revenue of government and will be administered by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Ruma who spoke at an interactive forum said President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's seven point agenda is about harnessing the potential of Nigerian agriculture to address the multiple challenges of economic growth, wealth creation and unemployment.

The minister said that states and local governments were expected to channel one per cent of their earning into agriculture but that this is not being done at the moment. According to him, commercial agriculture on a large scale undermines the activities of small peasant farmers. He plans to create a situation where both small- and big-time farmers work together in a cooperative system.

Meanwhile, the technology transfer centre of the North Central Agro-Input Dealers Association was launched yesterday at the National Agriculture show Site at Tudun Wada, Keffi, in Nassarawa State. This was the first of a number of sites to be launched. The second one will be launched tomorrow (Thursday) at the Fadama II office at Gwagwalada, Abuja.

International Centre for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development (IFDC) country representative in Nigeria, Mr. Scott Wallace, said low productivity was responsible for the reduced income of farmers. According to him, less than 10 per cent of agro-dealers in Nigeria had the right kind of knowledge and training. President of the association, Mr. Oguh Hyginus John, said legislation is needed to encourage dealers who are willing to take up agro-dealership as business. He said little attention is given to agro-dealers by policy makers and that there are no credit facilities for the sector as it is not considered a part of the agriculture business. The programme is supported by the IFDC.

"Nigerian agriculture is characterised by low level of input usage resulting in low productivity and reduced farmer income for farmers," Wallace said. "Farmers are confronted with escalating costs of production arising from rising world prices for inputs such as fertilizers and crop protection products. Both supply and demand sides issues act to adversely affect farmer use of modern inputs."

The centre is meant for agro-dealers to interact with other stakeholders in the sector. The centres are expected to create awareness for farmers, agro-dealers and other stakeholders in the agriculture sector. Key agriculture inputs are expected to be exhibited at the centre. These include machinery, soil management instruments and irrigation equipment.

At yesterday's exhibition, various simple agriculture technologies were introduced. They include an irrigation system that cost only N3,000 and machines for weed and pest control (weeds pose a great obstacle to good yields in the country).