• Governor vows to address food scarcity
Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun yesterday launched the first phase of the distribution of fertilisers to farmers, with a promise to tackle food scarcity.
About 7,000 of 12,000 farmers earmarked for the scheme will benefit from the first phase in which 24,000 fertilisers will be distributed.
Speaking at an event held at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, Prince Abiodun acknowledged the growing disparity between food supply and global food production, which had led to scarcity.
He said: “It is widely known that the global population is growing, while the overall food production is falling and struggling to keep pace. We will be more aggressive in tackling food inflation.
“The initiative symbolises more than just the distribution of fertilisers. It represents our collective resolve to support agriculture sector and ensure farmers have the resources they need to cultivate their land effectively and efficiently.
“The provision of the right type and adequate amount of fertiliser is crucial to boost crop yields, enhance quality and ultimately secure food supply for our state and the country.”
The distribution, the governor said, marked another significant milestone in the ongoing commitment to ensuring food security and empowering farmers, stressing that agriculture remained the backbone of the nation’s economy, creating and providing sustenance and reliable job opportunities for millions of Nigerians.
He noted the challenges farmers were facing in terms of unstable market prices and climate change, adding that with the right support and incentives, farmers could drive and transform the country’s agricultural sector.
Abiodun said: “12,000 farmers will benefit from this programme. In the first phase, at least 7,000 farmers are to benefit. This distribution spans categories of farmers, including the Nigeria Cassava Association, Rice Farmers Association, Maize Association of Nigeria, Farmer Allotees, Agro-services Crop Farmers, the Agricultural Development Programme, the Farmer Settlement and Estate Farmers, Tree Crops Farmers and farmers in all 20 local governments.
“It is gratifying to note that the ongoing cooperation of states and the federal government on this transformation agenda, particularly in agriculture, will create opportunities. It will serve as a viable business venture, and we should all come together to ensure its success,” the governor noted.
The present administration, the governor said, had designed and implemented programmes and interventions through the implementation of the “Building Our Future Together” agenda as encapsulated in the ISEYA mantra.
According to the governor, reforms such as the allocation of agricultural land to investors in the sector at Imasayi, Afon, Oke-Odan, Mamu, and Odeda Farm Settlement, as well as the allocation of land to members of the State Executive Council, House of Assembly members and High Court judges, are geared towards operationalising our back-to-land agenda.
He said his administration had given materials to 50 cassava women farmers in collaboration with the National Agriculture Land Development Authority, empowered 3,000 farmers with farm inputs under the Ogun N-CARES project, as well as provided capacity building for 12,000 farmers under the Value Chain Development Programme.
Commissioner for Agriculture, Bolu Owotomo, said the administration had intervened in farming by giving 1,000 farmers, especially those from farm settlements, a 50 per cent reduction in purchasing fertiliser, pesticides and cassava stems.
He said the state government had also intervened through the off-take programme by identifying 30,000 farmers and sharing them into clusters of 65 per cent in mechanisation and 50 per cent discount in inputs and capacity building.
The Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Ogun State chapter, Alhaji Kudirat Kusimo, appreciated the state government for its efforts in providing succour to the farmers, while calling on his colleagues to be honest by using the fertiliser for the purpose it was meant for.
