Three men claiming to represent three farmer associations in Karene and Port Loko districts have accused two District Agriculture Officers of failing to provide them with fertilizer for this planting season, despite having followed all procedures laid down by the Ministry of Agriculture. The men, who came to Politico in a visibly angry mood, blamed two District Agriculture Officers (DAOs) Francis Kekura and Charles Bangura of stifling their efforts to get the fertilizer that they say the Ministry is supplying farmers in different parts of the country.
Sallu Sesay, who is Chairman of Wan Word Farmers Cooperative, with a reported membership of 250 farmers in six chiefdoms in the Karene district, said they have for a couple of years now been overlooked in the supply of fertilizer but had this time been given hope having followed all the requisite protocols. Sesay said they were shocked when Kekura denied ever knowing them when they approached him at the Permanent Secretary’s office in Freetown. He produced some documents to Politico to confirm his argument that they had been dealing with the Karene District Agriculture Officer in relation to the ongoing supply of fertilizer to farmers across the country.
Abubakarr Sesay, who heads the Tawopaneh Agriculture Farmers Association in the same Karene district, narrated the alleged embarrassment he had faced from members who were looking forward to receiving their supplies of the potash fertilizer.
Similar concerns were raised by Saben Farmers Association Chairman, Ibrahim Jalloh, who also complained of lack of commitment by the Port Loko District Agriculture Officer Charles Bangura in ensuring that farmers in the district are supplied with fertilizer.
The aggrieved farmers say they have got reports which indicate that the fertilizer is being earmarked for people who were never in contention in the first place for such a supply.
Politico made several telephone calls and sent text messages to both Kekura and Bangura, but the calls went unanswered and the text messages were not responded to.
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