FMARDPace Project: Enumerators mourn as FMARDPace bids farewell to the year

It is another sad moment captured in the midst of ugly trends that agonised the year 2020 as the Enumerators of the Agric for Food and Job Plan Program for the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Collaboration with the Project for Agriculture Coordination and Planning (FMARDpace) "mourn" the uncertainty of the fruitfulness of their dedication, hard-labour, patience and tolerance.

The Enumerators lament what they described as a "big shock" and utter deciet as FMARDpace wrapped up the year with the inscription "Dear Enumerator, Compliment of the Season to you. As you prepare for the Festive period, please endavour to stay safe. The Minister of Health has warned that we may be on the verge of a second wave of COVID-19. Sanitize regularly and if you must go out, please wear a mask."

According to the Enumerators, the only compliment they had expected was the payment for their hardwork from the month of July, 2020, after several promises of their "payment loading 70%" from the month of July till now it depreciated to 0% without consolation or empathy.

Recall that Nura Mohammed had last week broken into tears, crying like a child to demand for his remuneration after several months of labour and hardship only to be greeted with the sad atmosphere of unending "soon". Listen to Audio here: FMARDPace: Enumerators Payment uncertain as Nura breaks down in tears | Listen to Conversation

Recounting their ordeal, the Enumerators stated that FMARDpace had from inception agreed that each Enumerator would be paid the sum of N500 for each successfully upload and accepted farmer's data in two trenches: half of earning in a week to be paid at the end of every week and the remaining halves of earning during the project to be paid as a whole sum, one month after the completion of the project, but that was breached while the most demeaning now is the unsympathetic cajole of their patience.

The Enumerators of the Project whose planned Protest and legal action in October was subdued with the inscription from FMARDPace, "Payment loading 70%, please be payment" lamented that "the work is too risky and demanding. It is not something that is supposed to be having irregularities that will lead to the breach of their agreement from one week to more than 4 months without payments. IT IS TOO OBVIOUS that we spent our money and time, many encountered snake bites and more sadly the news of the demise of one of us, but were inconsderably downplayed."

They furthered that they had born the transportation cost of going to the farms to locate the farmers, capture their data, with challenges, but were steadfast on hope that has now withered into the thin air as the year dies with uncertainty of their payment.

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