Mr Romanus Eze, Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Enugu Chapter, has attributed the rise in food prices to heavy taxation and a lack of preservative centers in the country.
On Wednesday, Eze told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu that farmers in states faced challenges with both legal and illegal tax payments.
He claimed that the lack of preservative centers in the states kept a large amount of perishable produce out of the markets.
After overcoming the challenges of harvesting their produce, farmers in Enugu State face legal and illegal produce tax collections, according to the chairman.
Farmers in the state, he claims, have faced numerous challenges from Local Government produce tax collectors.
“These people have been extorting money from farmers from the local to the urban markets, and the end users of the commodity are the ones who pay for it.”
He urged the federal and state governments to eliminate some produce taxes at the local council level.
“The cost of farming, harvesting, produce tax, and collection from security agents at checkpoints is what drives up commodity prices.”
“A good road network should not be overlooked because it helps farmers transport their produce to markets,” he says.
According to Eze, the country must establish preservative centers to ensure the efficacy of perishable goods.
“There is a Modern Solar Power Preservative Mechanism that can be built at Local Councils or cluster areas near farmers,”.
Eze lamented the impact of the sit-at-home project on farm markets and the region’s economy in the South East.
“It has an impact on farmers because they always harvest their produce on the weekend with the intention of taking it to markets on Monday.”
“Losing Mondays, which is the start of activities in the south east, has an economic impact on people’s lives,” Eze stated.
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