A firm, AgriDrive Nigeria Ltd, has said it has collaborated with Oyo State Government to cultivate 15,000 hectares of cassava to enhance food security in the country.
Speaking with reporters, the Managing Director, Dr. Daniel Willy, who is also the senior manager, Policy Agribusiness and Commercialisation, at African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), said the firm was making efforts to increase the number of hectares cultivated by farmers and its clients.
He said: “In the next one year, we intend to grow in terms of the hectares we cultivate for the farmers and our clients. We have a very ambitious target next year to reach about 15,000 hectares of mechanised operations, mainly within Oyo State. We are doing this, of course, in collaboration with the government.’’
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Country Manager of Agridrive Nigeria Ltd, Dr. Olaitan Alloh, said the firm, a social enterprise established by AATF and based in Kenya, was focused on all crops, but started with cassava, considering its value and position to agriculture and farmers.
He said: ‘’We also consider Agridrive as a not-for-profit organisation. Our focus is to harness mechanisation and agribusiness opportunities to support AATF’s vision of raising prosperous farmers and ensuring food security in Sub-Saharan Africa through enhancement of agricultural value chain.’’