Agricultural proceeds from South-western states can go a long way in boosting the nation’s economy, if the needed attention is paid to the sector, the Oyo State Commissioner for Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, Oyewole Oyewumi has said.
Speaking at a Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop on National Agricultural Enterprises Curriculum (NAEC) for South West FADAMA officers, Oyewumi who was represented by Victor Adewale Atilola, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, noted that as far as Oyo State is concerned, policies are being put in place to encourage agriculture business in the state.
“Agriculture can sustain the nation’s economy and we have everything to our advantage in the South West. Oyo State for instance has a land mass of 28, 454 square kilometres, out of which about 80 per cent is arable.
“Oyo State in many ways encourages capacity building, with a standing policy of having a multiplier effect when there are such trainings as this, so that the trainees can then go to the grassroots to train farmers in large numbers. So there is a policy already in line that allows for every aspect of the training to be stepped down so that we can actually have the knowledge to the grassroots where it is needed,” he said.
The four-day event which was put together in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is aimed towards educating farmers in Nigeria, who often lack basic planning skills, evaluation and analysis tools to support the growth of their farms, which has resulted in a lack of solid decision-making concerning economic and agronomic aspects needed to maximize their land productivity, farming income and profits.
While representatives from Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ekiti and Ondo States were trained at the event, the ToT is aimed at addressing these enterprise development capacity gaps, where the eventual target audience of the curriculum which are agriculture producers can employ a commercial approach to their agricultural activities rather than using typically-found subsistence practises.
The Rural Institution Development Specialist of the National FADAMA Coordination Office Abuja, Dr Gbenga Arokoyo said “the programme is to help farmers evolve their business sense and become oriented as agroprenuers.
“The programme is a FADAMA project, which we have been having with the USAID for about nine years now. The Nigerian agricultural enterprise curriculum is a training that helps farmers to see agriculture as a business, and help them evolve the business sense in agriculture.
“During the training, the farmers are taken through all the annual agricultural activities including credits, purchase of inputs as well as how and when to pay for loans, issues around risks and how to manage unplanned expenses. So by the time we train our officers at the state office, they can then step that down at the farmers’ level,” he said.
Stressing that there is a need to ensure that the doctrine that agriculture is only identified with the aged is reduced to the barest minimum, the commissioner added that OYO STATE is doing a lot of mechanisation of its operations in agriculture, especially to fascinate the youths who have hitherto seen it as a drudgery business.
Also speaking on the motive behind the event, the Oyo State Project Coordinator, FADAMA, Mr Nathaniel Olayinka, said the idea is to see agriculture as a business, where farmers would learn to harness the potential and opportunities and simulate everything together so that at the end of the day, they can make profit.