By Ukpong Ukpong
I found myself unintentionally defending the Akwa Ibom State Government during a conversation with a group of young farmers in Ediene Atai, Ikono Local Government Area, where I am currently cultivating food crops. I was encouraging them to diversify beyond traditional crops such as oil palm, cocoa, and cassava by investing in fast-yielding vegetables like sweet corn, pepper, tomatoes, and cucumber as a practical alternative for improving income and strengthening household food security.
However, the conversation soon shifted from opportunities in agriculture to the harsh realities confronting farmers across the state. They spoke about the rising cost and scarcity of farm inputs, limited access to improved farming techniques, inadequate knowledge of pest management, poor access to extension services, and the difficulty of increasing productivity despite their commitment to farming.
In my usual progressive stance, I began highlighting some of the agricultural interventions and incentives introduced by the current administration, including the Back-to-Farm initiative launched in 2025. I explained that government had announced several programmes aimed at encouraging farmers and boosting food production in the state. Then came a simple but uncomfortable question from one of the young farmers:
“Are you a beneficiary of this support?”
That question stopped me for a moment.
The honest answer was no.
Although I once had an opportunity when my cooperative was selected to benefit from a grant during a town hall meeting organised by the administration of Governor Umo Eno, the process ended abruptly because our cooperative president did not possess a voter card. As a result, the cooperative was disqualified. Till today, it remains difficult to understand how a voter card became a deciding factor in accessing a public intervention programme designed to improve livelihoods. But that was the reality.
This experience raises a fundamental question: are government agricultural programmes truly reaching genuine farmers, or are administrative barriers unintentionally preventing the very people they are meant to support from benefiting? A farmer’s ability to produce food should be determined by commitment, capacity, and need — not by avoidable bureaucratic hurdles.
Reacting to recently concluded registration for federal/state government grant routed through the Bank of Agriculture and challenges of accessing other government support, Mr. Nsisong Udo, a commercial farm owner in Akwa Ibom State, described how many genuine farmers are screened out by complicated documentation requirements and processes that demand significant time and resources from people whose daily lives revolve around farming.
“How do you expect farmers from interior communities across the state to travel to Uyo just to open an account with a particular bank?” he asked. “Worst still, the exercise is limited to three weeks, when the bank operates only on working days, effectively reducing the chances of many farmers completing the process.”
His concerns highlight a major gap between policy design and grassroots realities. Many farmers living in rural communities lack the financial capacity, transportation, and flexibility required to meet these conditions. A support programme that is difficult to access becomes, in practice, a programme that excludes.
The challenge is even more pronounced with online registration systems. While digital platforms can improve transparency and efficiency, they can also create a new barrier for farmers living in communities with poor internet connectivity and limited digital literacy.
Miss Ndifreke Daniel, a young commercial farmer who returned from the National Youth Service Corps programme and chose agriculture rather than waiting endlessly for unavailable jobs, shared her experience with the process.
“I tried several times to access the registration portal but could not because my village lacks internet coverage. I travelled to Uyo to register physically, but for three days I could not complete the process because of the crowd. The bank was filled to the extent that operations were suspended several times to control the crowd. People spilled onto the main road,” she explained.
Her suggestion is simple but important: agricultural support registration should not be treated as a one-time emergency exercise. If government is genuinely committed to empowering farmers at the grassroots, registration should be continuous, decentralised, and accessible through local government headquarters and other strategic locations across the state.
Beyond access, accountability must remain central. Funds allocated in the state budget and released for agricultural programmes must translate into measurable improvements in the lives of farmers. The Ministry of Agriculture must be able to demonstrate clear links between public investment and outcomes such as increased food production, availability of raw materials for local industries, job creation, improved farmer incomes, and reduced dependence on imported food.
Government cannot measure agricultural success merely by the number of programmes launched, empowerment events organised, or publicity campaigns executed. The real test is whether ordinary farmers in communities like Ediene Atai, Ikono, and other rural areas can access support, increase their yields, expand their farms, and improve their standard of living.
The Ministry of Agriculture therefore owes the people of Akwa Ibom answers. How many genuine farmers have benefited from these programmes? What percentage of beneficiaries are active farmers rather than political beneficiaries? Why are access procedures creating barriers for rural farmers? What monitoring systems exist to ensure that agricultural funds achieve their intended purpose?
Akwa Ibom farmers are not asking for charity. They are asking for a fair opportunity to contribute to food security, economic growth, and job creation in the state. The government has a responsibility to ensure that agricultural interventions are not only announced but are accessible, transparent, and impactful.
Until the farmer in the village can feel the impact of agricultural policies in his or her field, every claim of agricultural transformation will remain incomplete. The ultimate measure of success is not the amount of money released or the number of programmes launched; it is the farmer whose productivity has improved, whose income has increased, and whose hope in agriculture has been restored.
The writer is a farmer and agricultural stakeholder in Akwa Ibom State. The views expressed are based on personal observations, interactions with farmers, and independent assessment of issues affecting access to agricultural support programmes.
