Rubber Farmers Decry Neglect By FG
Rubber farmers have decried the neglect of the crop by the Federal Government.
Their lamentation followed the recent intervention by the Federal Government through the Bankers’ Committee to provide loan facilities to boost the production of five crops such as cocoa, palm oil, sesame seeds, cashew and shea butter.
In an interaction with journalists in Calabar on Tuesday, General Manager Imoniyame Holdings Ltd and a major rubber farmer, Simon Akiewe, alleged that the Federal Government had approved a single digit interest loan of nine per cent with a moratorium of 10 years for the five crops listed with the exclusion of rubber.
He said, “In Nigeria, rubber is produced in Edo, Delta, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Imo, Rivers, Ondo and Abia, providing employment opportunities to over 5,000 workers across these states.”
“Rubber is used for the production of shoes, boots, rubber sports balls, bicycle tyres, aeroplane tyres, plastic chairs, containers and several other products therefore, earning substantial foreign exchange for the country.
“Rubber farmers in Nigeria feel neglected. Rubber has boosted our economy in several ways. Let the Federal Government review this policy and include rubber among the crops enjoying government’s loan policy.
Akiewe added that rubber had a gestation period of 10 years while the other crops mentioned had less than that.
“Therefore, rubber needs even more assistance than the other crops. Thus, with a loan policy which has a moratorium of 10 years, it will go a long way to boost rubber production which has the potentials of boosting the nation’s economy,” he said.
Akiewe said he was worried that across the country, using Cross River State as a good example, “rubber plantations are bulldozed for construction purposes thereby, frustrating the farmers even the more.”
He urged the federal government to include rubber as one of the crops to benefit from the loan incentives approved by the Bankers’ Committee for the other five crops.
He said several other famers harboured similar sentiment and wanted both the federal and state governments to enact policies that would boost rubber production.
