In Ogun, It is Seamless Season for Agriculture

By Yekini Alli

In December very last yr, Ogun State helmsman, Prince Dapo Abiodun, breezed into the meeting room of Sheraton Hotels, Abuja, in a blaze of glory. And community and worldwide stakeholders in agriculture stood still as he was decorated with the Very best Governor of the calendar year award in Agriculture, a fitting tribute to months of countless toils and triumphs in a pandemic calendar year. The improvements in farming, farming tactics and systems and agribusiness deriving from Governor Abiodun’s (ISEYA) mantra of infrastructure, social welfare and wellbeing, youth empowerment, tradition and faith experienced not gone unnoticed. The 12 months had been tough but as the outdated stating goes, a golden fish has no hiding place…

As is properly known, the condition is incredibly competitive in arable crops like cassava, yam, maize, sweet potato, and funds crops like cocoa, oil palm, timbre, kolanut, cashew and rubber. In actualizing its objective, the federal government embraced an built-in tactic to production, processing and advertising and marketing via land provisions/inputs distribution, processing and advertising with people today and corporate corporations. There is of study course the African Enhancement Lender, Environment Lender/Ogun Point out Financial Transformation Undertaking (OGSTEP) for 40,000 farmers in nine precedence price chains cassava, maize, rice, soybean, tomatoes and pepper, sesame, fishery and poultry), amongst several other people.

All through the 2020 planting year, 40,000 smallholder farmers ended up supported with inputs these types of as seeds, cassava slicing, insecticide and herbicide, just as 10,000 farmers had been specified fertilizers palliatives and ongoing aid across the state. The administration supported younger farmers with around 900 hectares of land preparations in 17 spots, with some 2,500 unemployed youths and farmers participating in cassava manufacturing. In addition, it established up strategic partnerships with global improvement associates and farmers in substantial-scale cultivation of rice and cassava in 36 locations in 11 regional government regions.

It are not able to be a moot issue that the broiler scheme of the point out empowered 54 pilot youths who had successfully concluded 3 cycles of broiler generation with every building gain of N150.000 for each cycle for three cycles. If the administration accomplished achievements with the linkage of 4,462 members to inputs and credit score to the tune of N700 million in the cassava price chain, and 1,065 contributors to inputs and credit rating to the tune of N300 million in the rice value chain as a result of the CBN/Ogun Point out Anchor Debtors Programme (ABP), the linkage of 800 individuals to inputs and credit score to the tune of N360 million less than the Ogun Point out Federal government/Federal Authorities/IFAD Assisted Price Chain Progress Programme (VCDP) took issues to a different stage entirely. But that was not all: 394 maize farmers, 54 rice farmers and 21 poultry farmers benefitted from the Nigeria Incentive-Based mostly Risk Sharing Procedure for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) by means of the CBN.

To be sure, the building of 20km access roadways in Obafemi-Owode, Yewa North and Ijebu North East, 14 solar-driven water strategies in Ijebu North East, Obafemi-Owode, Yewa North, Ifo, Ijebu East, Odeda and Odogbolu LGAs, four cassava processing centres at Baara, Alapako-Oni, OkeIyemi and Ayetoro, not to mention the rice processing centre in Eggua, is all element of the plan to make farming fantastic again in Ogun Point out.

What is far more, innovations these types of as the CBN Cassava 5-Star Programme, Cocoa Enhancement Initiative and Oil Palm Growth Programme) and the Federal Govt/Ogun Condition Governing administration/IFAD Assisted Worth Chain Progress Programme for more than 3,000 farmers in 11 area govt spots in the condition are steadily turning the fortunes of farmers and farming close to in the condition. This, of program, is in addition to the Earth Bank COVID-19 Action Recovery and Financial Stimulus (CARES) Job Environment Lender-Assisted Agro-Processing, Agricultural Productiveness Improvement and Livelihood Advancement (APPEALS) Undertaking EU/GIZ/Federal Govt/Lagos Condition/Ogun State Nigeria Competitiveness Challenge (NICOP) for 3,000 farmers which include youths, in tomato and chilli pepper value chains Global Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)’s technological innovations and support to farming and similar actions, which includes technical backstopping, demonstration farms and business development in Ogun Point out. The list is almost countless.

But here’s the authentic offer: the glory season is in point only just commencing. For just one, irrigation farming and weather-sensible agricultural methods are in the pipeline.

The Ogun Condition Economic Transformation Programme (OGSTEP) specific at empowering above 40,000 farmers is scheduled to get off even as the administration has concluded strategies to backlink farmers with tractors, planting materials palliatives and aid them reduce the value of creation. An Ogun-Kebbi Joint Commision on Rice Generation is established to be unfolded to satisfy the expanding demand from customers for the staple food stuff across the country.

That is not all: rice farmers in the point out are established to practical experience a marvel as the govt deploys drone technologies to scare away predatory birds, and will be joined with mechanical rice harvesters at the mere payment of a spend a token.

Presented the foregoing, it did not appear as a surprise that a delegation from the Federal Cash Territory Agricultural Development Programme (FCT-ADP) and the Agric and Rural Advancement Secretariat (ARDS) recently frequented Ogun State on a share-discovering mission.

According to the leader of the delegation who doubles as the Director, Scheduling, Study and Figures, ARDS, Yahaya Hussaini, the seamless land acquisition approach, land administration, farm settlement and farm estate functions of the condition informed the preference of Ogun.

His words: “We are below for the reason that of the a variety of success tales of Ogun Point out in terms of agriculture. It was certainly a fruitful go to, we have been to other states but what we observed in Ogun State is a broad margin, and we came to the conclusion that agriculture is the way out of our problems.” Yahaya extra that the Ogun Broiler Task and fisheries production would be replicated in the FCT-ADP. The Ogun State govt is in truth operating with the Federal Government and the personal sector to promote the usage of the Vitamin A and bio-fortified food items.

As noted by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Adeola Odedina, “We are privileged to be in charge of food stuff security, industrial linkage and land administration, amid others, accounting for the influx of buyers into our expensive point out.”

Specified the innovations highlighted previously mentioned, you would be forgiven for thinking that almost nothing further more is in the offing. But you would be incorrect: this thirty day period, Prince Dapo Abiodun disclosed plans by his administration to have an agro-allied dependent airport—yes, airport– to aid the improvement of the point out as a spot of option for agriculture in Nigeria.

Speaking throughout the inauguration of Agbeloba Aquaculture Hub in Owiwi, Obafemi-Owode Neighborhood Governing administration Place of the point out, Abiodun said the agricultural sector remained a sure way out of poverty and the unemployment ravaging the nation. As he pointed out, this 12 months, at the very least 5,000 younger persons in the point out would acquire mentoring, support, and linkage to rewarding agro-expenditure corporations, as a prelude to placing them up in their respective businesses. In his perspective, “We now need another Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) far more than at any time before.

This time, it has to be urgent and with household-grown initiatives.” Practically nothing could be a lot more apt at this time when the nation faces threats to food stuff safety in kind of bandits and terrorists exterminating farming communities in the North-East and chopping down farmers in chilly blood across the nation.

Alli despatched this piece from [email protected]