Irrigation activities at border towns may suffer serious setback due to the ban on the supply of petroleum products to areas located 20 kilometer to international land borders, Daily Trust has gathered.
Our reporter, who visited some of the areas, observed many filling stations locked down, with the few still in business selling far above the government approved pump prices.
At Illela, a Local Government Area in Sokoto State, a litre of petroleum being sold at either N250 or N300, thus making it unaffordable for most irrigation farmers in the area.
Ibrahim Abdullahi, a seasoned irrigation farmer fondly called Captain in Illela town, said the ban may force many of them out of the farming business, because it was no longer profitable.
“Here, out of every five men, two are irrigation farmers. But we are now buying fuel at N300 per litre, how can we continue like this, when there is no benefit?” he said.
He noted that “the earlier government reviewed this policy, the better, if it is truly serious about promoting agricultural activities in the country.”
Illela is home to some of the major producers of carrots and garlic and second largest producer of onion in Sokoto State. The town also used to have the largest international markets for cattle, but for the closure of the Illela-Konni (Niger Republic) border.
Another farmer, Mustapha Muhammad, said carrot seeds that hitherto sold at N6000 have now gone up to N8000 because of the hike in transport fares occasioned by the border closure.
“Our people now prefer going to Sokoto which is an hour’s drive from here to get fuel at government approved price and the unlucky ones get theirs seized by Customs and other security operatives along the way,” he lamented.
Similarly, a commercial driver in the town, Muhammad Boyi Gatti, while justifying their decision to increase transport fare, said there was a significant decline in the number of people travelling out of the town since the ban took effect.
Read Original Report Here By Daily Trust