Many of the Federal Government-owned grains silos located in states within the North East zone of the country are in bad shape and need to be rehabilitated, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
A survey conducted by NAN in Bauchi, Borno and Yobe indicates that whereas the ones in Yobe are still under construction, those in Bauchi and Borno have been damaged by windstorm.
However, those in Adamawa, Gombe and Jigawa are in good conditions, but are under-utilized.
In the case of Borno, NAN investigation reveals that because the silos are located in the outskirt of Maiduguri, it has become impossible to utilise them due to ongoing insurgency, resulting in their dormancy and deterioration.
Some farmers interviewed in Maiduguri expressed concern over this development.
Nasir Muhammed, a rice farmer, told NAN that farmers have been preserving their foodstuffs in their homes.
Muhammed said that government should think of providing more of such facilities in safe locations in the state.
Ismaila Mshelia, a nutritionist in Maiduguri, lamented that the dysfunctional state of the public silos has forced farmers and traders of grains to resort to self-help methods, at the expense of public health.
Mshelia explained that pesticides and other poisonous substances, without supervision, are applied to preserve the food crops, posing dangers to the health of consumers.
“When the grain season comes to an end, farmers have to face one last challenge, and that is storage management.
“Since grains are usually stored for a longer period, storage is a particularly delicate stage in grain production that requires adequate management,” he said.
In Bauchi, the Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture in the state, Dr Mohammed Yusuf, said windstorm experienced in the state in 2018 had destroyed the Federal Government grains silos there.
Yusuf said that prior to the incident, the silos had not been handed over to government by the contractors, adding that presently the facilities are yet to be reconstructed.
Dr Abdulkadir Usman, an agronomist based in Bauchi, said silos in the country are not utilized for the purpose they were constructed.
“In 2014, the Federal Government decided to privatise or concession some of these silos so that the private sector will handle them.
“Part of the agreement is that the Federal Government will retain six out of the 33 silos across the nation.
“The silos are not in bad shape but had been idle for a long time and had not been put to use after huge sums of money had been expended on their installation,” Usman said .
Alhaji Halilu Gajji, a large scale farmer in Bauchi, said that the concession is justified, as neither the Federal Government nor any arm of government, has the capacity to manage the silos.
In the case of Yobe, NAN learnt that the 25,000 – tonne grains silo under construction has reached 95 per cent completion stage.
Alhaji Usman Ciromari, the Director in charge of Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the state, said that when completed, it will be handed over to concessionaires in line with the policy of the Federal Government.
In Adamawa, Jigawa and Gombe states however, NAN investigation reveals that the facilities are in good conditions.
Mr. Suleiman Amusa, Manager of Federal Government silos in Adamawa, confirmed that the facility is in good condition and can store 500,000 metric tonnes of grains.
Amusa said grains stored in the silos were distributed by the Federal Government to state governments for onward distribution to the people to cushion the effects of COVID-19.
NAN learnt that in this regard, over 100 trucks of assorted grains were allocated to Adamawa State government from the silos, for public consumption
Mr Moses Obaje, the Manager of the 25,000 – metric tonne silos in Jahun Local Government Area of Jigawa, said the facility is currently empty after about 18,000 metric tonnes of grains stored by the concessionaires, was released recently.
Obaje said the grains were released to livestock feed mills, and the concessionaires are currently preparing for another season of mop up.
According to him, the facility in Jahun is in good condition and operational, though some minor maintenance works are needed.
In Gombe, Dr. Musa Inuwa, Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the state, said that the silo facility in the state is functional.
Inuwa stated that the facility, which is of 25,000 metric tonnes capacity, is under a concession of 10 years, with Nigeria Flour Mills as the concessionaire.
He said the concession arose due to the huge resources needed to keep the facility in order, at all times, hence the need to give it out to the private sector.
“The silos are highly under-utilized because we have over 30 of such facilities in the country and the amount of money required to fill our silos to capacity is more than the budget of the entire ministry.
“It is not easy to get that amount of money and that is why most of them were given to concessionaires, instead of allowing them to deteriorate.
“The silo is key in the storage of excess produce that comes from farmers and if government does not have these facilities to store excess produce, the country could run into a major food crisis,’’ Inuwa said.
He said the grains in the silos, which are bought from farmers, can stay as long as 10 years without getting spoilt, adding that part of the idea of silos is to protect farmers, especially when there is glut.
