Anambra State government recently inaugurated a committee on
Ugbo-Azuno, with a charge on members to mobilize Ndi Anambra to engage
in aggressive farming as a way of cushioning post COVID-19 effects.

During the inauguration, the Anambra State Commissioner for
Agriculture Mechanization and Processing, Mr Nnamdi Onukwuba,
disclosed that farm inputs recently distributed to Farmers across the
State were aimed at achieving food surplus, as COVID-19 takes its toll
on the people and nation’s economy.

ABS Correspondent, Queen Anigbogu, in this special report, went round
town to ascertain compliance to the initiative and the reasons for the
high cost of farming.

According to her report, a rice farmer in Enugwu-Agidi, Njikoka Local
Government Area Mr Timothy Nwufo, while commending the State
government for the Ugbo Azu-Uno initiative, said the price for a day
job on a farm as of last year, was two thousand five hundred naira but
it now costs around four thousand five hundred naira, five thousand
naira and seven thousand naira respectively attributing it to
Inter-State boundary closure over COVID-19 pandemic.

Other farmers Mrs Dorcas Ejike and Chief Mrs Celestina Akabueze,
expressed gratitude for the encouragement and support from government
but lamented high cost of farming this year, and appealed to labourers
to reduce their price in order to enable farmers patronize them.

At the Awka Artisan Market, popularly known as Ogbo-Olu, several of
the Artisans including, Solomon Eze, Monica Nworie, Timothy Mgbada and
Sunday Igwe, pointed out that the high cost of farming is because of
the pandemic which has brought about Inter-State boundary closure.

Sellers of seedlings are not left out in the effects of the pandemic.

Also speaking, Mrs Ifechukwu Nwoye and Mrs Rose Chinweude, who deal on
pumpkin and yam seedlings respectively, at Afo Ukwulu Market, decried
low patronage, adding that even to access seedlings for resale in the
state is now a very difficult task owing to unavailability of vehicles
that will transport them outside the state to purchase some seedlings
which are not readily available in some markets in Anambra State.

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