Taiwo Toluyemi, a trainer with the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin, Kwara, wants governments to partner with NGOs to finance rural farmers.

Toluyemi, who was in Delta to coordinate a training programme on Agricultural Produce Marketing Extension, made the call while speaking with newsmen on Wednesday in Asaba.

 He said that such collaborative effort was necessary because rural farmers encountered difficulties accessing agriculture loan from the banks.

 "The issue is that government has no business going direct to give out loans; so long as governments want to do that, it will be hijacked by political farmers."

He said that government, should instead, work with NGOs that had close relationship with rural farmers in order to address the hurdles associated with bank documentations.

"Besides, the government would have by-passed the portfolio farmers, who hitherto hijacked the funds meant for the grassroots farmers."

Commenting of the Federal Government's Value Chain Programme, Tolyyemi said that is was capable of creating enough jobs for the teeming unemployed citizens of the country.

 He urged the government to ensure that its objectives were achieved for the maximum benefit of the people.

"Agriculture remains the most potent sector that can provide employment but government also has to play its role very well in providing the enabling environment.

 "We are not saying give subsidy but even if government is going to give subsidy, it should not be at the input levels but at the output levels.

"If the price of the output is guaranteed, it will encourage the youths to come in, government should also encourage the youths to produce with modern technology."

He also advised the government to provide a platform to accommodate the excess produce from farmers during bumper harvest.

He said that a situation whereby the prices of farm produce were being determined by the consumers was discouraging; adding that buying up the excess harvest would encourage farmers.

Toluyemi urged the local governments to wake to their responsibility of training agricultural extension officers, who would take the new farming and marketing methods to rural farmers.