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...Project To Crash Food Prices -AFAN
Federal Government has lauded the launch on Tuesday of the All Farmers Association (AFAN) customised tricycle which would be distributed to farmers for ease of transportation of farm produce across the country.
Independent gathered that the launch of the farmers’ tricycle was made possible through the collaborative efforts of AFAN leadership, FarinCiki Nigeria Limited, and the Sanguo Motors of South Korea, the manufacturers.
Adeniyi Adebayo, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment who unveiled the vehicles for farmers said the feat is a commendable milestone for the company and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
According to him, such a project has the potential to boost both the capacity for local assembly of tricycles as well as strengthen food security and farming through micro financing, is one that is especially welcomed.
“This is a commendable milestone for the company and the Federal Republic of Nigeria. However, it is of even more importance to us at the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment as it is an achievement that touches various aspects of our mandate.
“As you may be aware, one of the core mandates of the Ministry is to build an industrial base for Nigeria and we have identified the automotive industry as one of the priority sectors for enabling industrial growth.
“It is therefore clear that a project such as this, which has the potential to boost both the capacity for local assembly of tricycles as well as strengthen food security and farming through micro financing, is one that is especially welcomed”.
He noted that very few businesses recognise the importance of MSMEs and proactively include them in their long term strategies, stressing that the Farin Ciki Group deserves an applause for this bold and commendable step.
“On this note, it is my great pleasure to unveil this new trike model and I wish to congratulate the Board, Management and staff of the Farin Ciki Group as well as the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) on such a wonderful collaboration” he said.
Also speaking, Alh. Farouk Mudi, the National President of AFAN, said transportation of farm produce from the farm to market and storage facilities has been one of the major challenges of Nigeria farmers.
He said the high cost of moving farm produce invariably increases the cost of production, thereby causing high cost of farm produce in the markets.
“I am a farmer, I know the kind of suffering that farmers are having in terms of transporting their inputs to the farm and produce back from the farm to the market and warehouses.
“Transportation takes a lot of money in the cost of production, so once we can cut the cost of transportation, definitely, not only we the farmers even the consumers will feel it because the cost that will be cut will also reduce the cost of food in the market, so definitely it will not only affect the economy of the farmers, but it will affect the economy of everyone”, Mudi said.
The CEO of FarinCiki Nigeria Alhaji Ibrahim Idimi said the benefit of the tricycle is the ability of farmers to move their products easily from their farms to the markets and storage facilities.
He said during their research, they found out that the major challenge farmers face is transportation of their products, so they introduced the innovation to address the challenge.
The most important benefit is for the farmers to be able to move their produce from the farm to the market place or from the farm to the storage facilities that have always been the challenges.
“We tried to look out for the challenges the farmers face and every time the redline was always on the transportation, that was why we created this vehicle to meet the needs of the farmers.
“We worked in collaboration with the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, we came up with a template where we will fund and bring the vehicle, distribute it to the farmers and we will spread a payment plan of 5 years for them through micro-financing.
“So, whatever the farmer does per week, he puts a little of that into the account until 5 years’ time he is able to purchase the vehicle”, Idimi noted.
In his remarks, Mr. Yong Bok Shin, the Chief Executive Officer of Sanguo Motors Korea, said the tricycle is built for Nigeria roads, adding that it took years of research with the management of FarinCiki Nigeria Limited to achieve the feat.
He assured that adequate provisions have been made for the aftersales services to ensure that the users take maximum advantage and value for their money.
