18,000 farmers benefit from Lagos GES scheme

 ABOUT 18,000 farmers benefitted from Lagos State’s Growth Enhancement Support (GES) Scheme in 2013, according to the Coordinator, Mr. Kayode Ashafa.
  Ashafa said that the figure was a great leap from the 3,000 beneficiaries recorded in 2012, adding that the increase was as a result of a more organised approach to the activities of the scheme.
 The coordinator said more value chains were included in the scheme, which also contributed to its smooth operations in the year under review.
 ``In 2013, the aquaculture sub-sector was included in the scheme as well as sheep and goats,’’ Ashafa said.
  He also said some of the successes recorded by the scheme in 2013 were that phone calls in the e-wallets got through to farmers better than in 2012.
 On the registration and data base of farmers in 2013, Ashafa said 100,000 farmers registered in the state during the nationwide registration exercise.
 He advised that seedlings and input should be distributed before the planting season in 2014.
 The input and seedlings arrived late in 2013 and posed a challenge because farmers had to purchase seeds through open market so as not to miss planting.
 ``We know that every programme has its teething periods and the e-wallet is not an exception, however, I am happy to note that we are surmounting the challenges.
 ``I will also advise that input come at the right time so that farmers will take advantage of the planting opportunities.
 ``For example, rice seeds arrived late in 2013 and farmers had to buy their seeds so that they would not miss the planting season,” he said.
 Ashafa expressed the hope that 2014 would be better than 2013 and advised that more value chains be added to the scheme this year.
  GES is one of the many critical components of the Federal Government's Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) and is
designed to provide affordable agricultural input like fertilizers and hybrid seeds to farmers to increase their yields per hectare and make it comparable to world standard.

By Adeniyi Idowu Adunola and Tolulope Okunlola