The 30th Inaugural Lecturer, Professor Akinwunmi Omotayo

The 30th Inaugural Lecturer of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, (UNAAB), Prof. Akinwunmi Moses Omotayo, has decried the downward trend in the fortunes of Nigerian peasant farmers, lamenting that they are being daily short-changed by consumers of their produce.

Omotayo, who is a Professor of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology in the Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, College of Agricultural Management and Rural Development (COLAMRUD), said inappropriate pricing of farm produce in Nigeria has ironically made an average Nigerian farmer to subsidize every consumer of his produce, to the tune of between 80 and 100%.

Delivering a Lecture titled, “The Nigerian Farmer and The Elusive Crown”, Professor Omotayo who is the immediate past Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Ekiti State, attributed the inappropriate pricing of farm produce to lack of storage facilities, limited access to credit, huge indebtedness during planting season and lack of appropriate data on both production and sales.

He, therefore, called on government and other stakeholders to assist farmers in reaping good dividends on sales of their farm produce.