James Sowole in Abeokuta
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has unveiled a complete help bundle for 10,000 rice and cassava farmers, together with subsidised fertilisers, herbicides and improved planting supplies, alongside the distribution of 10 tractors, different agricultural gear and 1,200 Android telephones to spice up meals manufacturing and strengthen meals safety.
Abiodun introduced the interventions yesterday on the 2026 World Food Day celebration held on the June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta, with the theme, ‘Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow’.
Under the initiative, 2,000 rice farmers will obtain two baggage of fertiliser and one bag of urea every, whereas 8,000 cassava farmers will obtain the identical portions of fertiliser and urea, alongside 25 bundles of cassava stems every.
The authorities can even present three litres of herbicides to every beneficiary rice farmer and 10 litres to every cassava farmer.
The 1,200 Android telephones, outfitted with purposes offering climate data, market costs and steerage on finest agricultural practices, are designed to provide farmers entry to well timed data, enhance manufacturing selections and strengthen their hyperlinks to agricultural markets.
The 10 tractors and different gear are being supplied to help farm settlements and farmers’ associations throughout the state, reinforcing the administration’s drive to develop mechanised farming, cut back manufacturing prices and improve agricultural output.
Abiodun mentioned his administration was dedicated to remodeling agriculture right into a worthwhile, technology-driven sector able to creating jobs, attracting funding and strengthening Ogun State’s contribution to nationwide meals safety.
“We established the Ogun State Agricultural Land Management Agency (OSALMA) to facilitate access to land and promote a responsible and inclusive framework for land-intensive agricultural investment,” he mentioned.
The governor disclosed that his administration had accomplished 28 agricultural tasks within the final two years throughout crop manufacturing, aquaculture and poultry, with investments in processing, storage, mechanisation and different vital infrastructure geared toward strengthening the agricultural worth chain.
Among the tasks, he mentioned, had been photo voltaic dryers, warehouses, cassava processing centres and a poultry processing plant at Ajegunle Farm Settlement in Odeda Local Government Area. The poultry facility has the capability to course of 5,000 birds each day, equal to roughly 1.3 million birds yearly.
He added that the state had procured 39 tractors, 4 self-propelled harvesters and different agricultural gear to enhance mechanisation and cut back the burden of handbook farming.
On youth empowerment, Abiodun disclosed that greater than 200 younger folks had not too long ago acquired coaching in soilless farming via a partnership with Soilless Farm Lab, with start-up help supplied to assist beneficiaries set up their very own agricultural enterprises.
He mentioned the administration’s goal was to develop native processing, retain larger worth throughout the state’s economic system and create employment alternatives throughout the agricultural worth chain.
“Our goal is to process more locally, retain greater value and create more jobs. We seek partnerships that create jobs, transfer knowledge, empower farmers and develop local capacity,” he mentioned.
The governor known as on traders to benefit from alternatives in industrial farming, agro-processing, livestock manufacturing, aquaculture, mechanisation, irrigation, storage and cold-chain services, assuring them of the state’s readiness to help accountable agricultural investments.
He mentioned the administration was working in direction of an agricultural economic system by which farming was worthwhile, agribusinesses thrived and rural communities prospered.
Abiodun additionally highlighted the Ogun State Farmer Information Management System, launched in April 2023, which has captured greater than 160,000 farmers and agricultural value-chain actors.
He defined that the platform was designed to help evidence-based policymaking, enhance the concentrating on of agricultural interventions and make sure that authorities help reached meant beneficiaries.
“Under the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP), agribusiness companies bought over 283,000 tonnes of agricultural produce.
“Farmers organised into clusters also received capacity-building support and connections to off-takers. These measures have helped turn increased production into dependable income,” he mentioned.
The governor recommended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for efforts to strengthen native fertiliser manufacturing and enhance farmers’ entry to important agricultural inputs. He additionally acknowledged the contributions of the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to initiatives supporting girls farmers.
He mentioned the Ogun State Government would proceed to enhance federal agricultural initiatives via focused help for farmers, accountable funding and stronger market linkages.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Bolu Owotomo, described World Food Day as a reminder that entry to nutritious and reasonably priced meals was basic to human dignity and sustainable improvement.
He mentioned innovation was important to constructing a resilient meals system and known as for larger funding in girls and younger folks via improved entry to land, finance, coaching, know-how and viable agribusiness alternatives.
Owotomo disclosed that greater than 12,000 farmers had benefited from coaching and agricultural inputs underneath OGSTEP.
He mentioned the most recent interventions centered on three areas: digital empowerment via the distribution of Android telephones; mechanisation help via agricultural gear; and subsidised inputs for 2,000 rice farmers and eight,000 cassava farmers.
According to him, the enter help operates underneath an association by which beneficiaries contribute 30 per cent of the price, relying on the class, whereas the federal government covers the remaining 70 per cent via its partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
In his keynote tackle, a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Professor Kolawole Adebayo, mentioned Ogun State occupied a strategic place in the way forward for Nigeria’s meals system due to its agricultural potential and proximity to main shopper markets.
He famous that the state’s 1.2 million hectares of arable land provided vital alternatives for agro-industrial funding, stressing the necessity for forward-looking insurance policies and sustained dedication to improvements that might ship lasting advantages to the meals system.
Adebayo known as for an built-in transportation community linking rail, highway, water and air transport to facilitate the environment friendly motion of agricultural produce, protect high quality and cut back post-harvest losses.
He recommended the state authorities for growing agro-industrial processing zones, bettering land-clearing companies for smallholder farmers and increasing entry to agricultural inputs.
He additionally recognized the Farmer Information Management System and the institution of the Nigerian Food Bank in Ogun State as initiatives that might strengthen the state’s contribution to nationwide meals safety.
The National Programme Coordinator of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones Programme, Dr Kabiru Yusuf, represented by the National Agriculture Expert, Dr Louis Enaberue, recommended Abiodun for his help for the agricultural sector and urged beneficiaries to make efficient use of the gear and farm inputs.
Similarly, the South-west Coordinator of the Commodity Farmers Association of Nigeria, Prince Segun Dasaolu, acknowledged the state authorities’s interventions, saying they had been serving to to strengthen agricultural improvement and help farmers throughout the area.
Speaking on behalf of farm settlers throughout the state, Rotimi Sogunle thanked the governor for supporting farming communities and described OGSTEP as a big intervention within the state’s agricultural sector.
The spotlight of the celebration was the symbolic presentation of tractors, agricultural gear, Android telephones, fertilisers, herbicides and different farm inputs to beneficiaries.
