The Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Ogun State Chapter has demanded for inclusion of its members and be given access to agricultural loans or tractor hiring schemes.
Penpushing reports that Chairman of the body, Dr Michael Ebonhor made the call in his speech at the Value Chain Development (VDC) programme a Federal Government assisted IFAD sponsored programme’,
‘I stand before you as your brother, your servant, and your chairman. But today, I also stand before you as a farmer. Many of you know that I have personally struggled to access farmland, inputs, and markets because of my disability. So I am not speaking theory. I am speaking from my life’, Ebonhor said.
‘How many PWDs have you seen receiving government farming inputs like cassava stems, cocoa seedlings, or fertilizers? How many PWDs have been trained by the Ministry of Agriculture on modern farming techniques? How many PWDs have been given access to agricultural loans or tractor hiring schemes?’, he queried
‘The answer is almost zero. This is not because we cannot farm. This is because we have no unified voice to demand inclusion in the agricultural value chain. Today, I will share with you three things: how we form this agricultural network, how we strengthen it, and how we get support so that no PWD in Ogun State is left out of farming, processing, or selling agricultural products’, he emphasized
‘Let me be direct. Ogun State is an agricultural state. We have land. We have rain. We have hardworking people. But persons with disabilities are largely invisible in agriculture’, Ebonhor added.
‘Today is June 2nd, 2026. Let this date be remembered in the history of disability and agriculture in Ogun State. Let it be known that on this day, we decided to stop begging and start farming together’.
Penpushing further reports that he pointed out that without including persons with disabilities in agriculture, Ogun State is losing half of its farming strength, assuring that persons with disabilities can be part of the agricultural value chain – from farm to table, from production to processing to marketing.
The association boss lamented that despite the fact that Ogun State is an agricultural state, with enough farmland and adequate rain have land and hardworking people persons with disabilities are largely invisible in agriculture.
‘When the Ministry of Agriculture distributes inputs, we will be on the list. When there are farming trainings, we will be in the hall. When there are agricultural loans, we will be at the table’, he stated.
Penpushing also reports that he tasked government to collect data on persons with disabilities farmers in Ogun State, to know how many of them are farming, what crops they grow, and challenges they face, stressing that with data, they can prove their case to the government
‘As your Chairman, I am tired of attending agricultural meetings where we are given biscuits and soft drinks and then forgotten. I want PWDs in Ogun State to own farms, to own processing mills, and to own market stalls. That is why we need this network’.
Penpushing reports that Ebonhor encouraged members to form an agricultural steering committee to identified who are actively engaged in farming or agribusiness, explaining that this committee must include women with disabilities, youth with disabilities from all impairment groups, declaring that If any group is left out, agricultural network is weak.
The chairman added that this network should be with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, stating that registration gives tem the right to demand agricultural inputs, training, and loans as a recognized group.
‘Within six to twelve months (by June 2027), we must build agricultural capacity. I propose regular agricultural workshops for PWDs on: modern farming techniques for cassava, maize, vegetables, cocoa, and palm oil, climate-smart agriculture for smallholder farmers, post-harvest handling and processing (garri making, cassava flour, palm oil processing), cooperative formation and marketing, accessing agricultural loans – NIRSAL, Bank of Agriculture (BOA), and other schemes
Penpushing further reports that he emphasized that knowledge is power, pointing out that when people with disabilities know modern farming, they will no longer be beggars, but will be producers.
‘For too long, people have looked at us and said, “You cannot farm because you have a disability.” That is a lie. I have seen a blind man plant cassava perfectly. I have seen a wheelchair user run a poultry farm. I have seen a deaf woman process and sell palm oil. Disability is not inability. Inability is when we refuse to organize’, he emphasised.
‘This meeting – June 2nd, 2026 – must not be just a talk shop. It must be the day we committed to building an agricultural PWD network that no government ministry, no input distributor, and no market can ignore.Alone, we harvest a basket. Together, we fill a barn.Here is my call to action for each of you’, Ebonhor stated
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