The National President, Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN), Pastor Tunji Adenola, has urged the Federal Government to ban the importation of maize into the country in order to support its local production.
He said local farmers can produce maize that will satisfy the needs of the country and also serve as raw materials for industries, if properly supported by the government.
In a statement issued after the association’s annual general meeting (AGM), in Abuja yesterday, he said farmers are willing to produce more maize if the government can ban the importation of maize into the country thereby creating a market for them to sell their products.
He said: “One of the greatest problem that needs to be overcome is that importation of maize must be stopped if not, we will be using our foreign exchange which is scarce now to satisfy other countries when we know that Nigeria can provide all the seeds needed in the country.
“The farmers are willing to produce because the market will be there, we will be able to meet the national requirements.
“We are going to engage the government and stress the need there is need to close our borders to these porous leakages of maize into the country.
“What the government needs to do is to guarantee us the market that they will allow us to sell our products. What is important is that what the farmer produces is able to sell it.”
He also urged the government to make credit facilities available to their members which will go a long way to ensure that they meet up with the quantity of maize needed in the country.
“If the government policy on credit facilities is kept alive, then the support of finance will be a big advantage for farmers to produce. Not total, just give us a little and I can assure you that we won’t need to import maize into Nigeria again,” he added.
also read - Farmers can make more profits from maize farming than cocoa - says MAAN President.
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