Ado Awaye: Reviving farm settlements with community effort

Dating back to the 1950s, all tiers of government set up farm settlements to promote efficient use of land in a way that will boost socioeconomic life of people and the community. But with the discovery of oil, the nation shifted away from agriculture leading to the abandonment of farm settlements across the country. However, the fear of dwindling food security and need to diversify the economy is driving people back to the farms. WALE AKINSELURE, in this piece, examines the revival of farm settlements in Nigeria especially the community based alternative advanced by the people of Ado Awaye community in Oyo State.

Kolade Oladele put up a response replete with nostalgia and lamentation when Ojo Olawale, a blogger asked, “What happened to the days of farm settlements in Nigeria?” Back in 1970s, Chief Obafemi Awolowo had promoted the setting up of farm settlements across the country and provided required infrastructure for the settlements to serve as centres for agricultural research and extension services. Kolade, especially, bemoaned that many farm settlements which used to be popular in states of the South West region had either become abandoned or less functional. “My heart bleeds for our nation when I remember the issue of farm settlements. They were all over there in the South West. My father used to tell us about the one in Ilora, Oyo state where he used to work as a secondary school student on holiday as labourer. Every convenience was there then and to me, farming was relatively easier, cheaper and more secure. All this job creation mantra of government will work if these settlements can be opened up and taken back to those days; let there be infrastructure such as electricity, youths will gladly live in serene environments (where you can use your mobile devices to access internet) and do productive agriculture. I still maintain that agriculture is a major saviour of youth unemployment,” Kolade said. With the inherent potentials identified by Kolade, are farm settlements dead and become one of the “once upon a time” tales of Nigeria?

Pre-oil era, farming was the major preoccupation of Nigerians and a major source of income for the country. In promoting farming, even back in the 1950s, government set up farm settlement schemes as an intervention to promote efficient in utilization of land resources and dignity in farming through provision of infrastructure. Thousands of hectares of land were usually acquired and divided into sections for interest farmers to settle. In the Sawonjo farm settlement, Ogun state, of the 70s, each farmer got a total of five acres on which he or she had a two bedroom farm house attached to it, and the farmer did his or her farming at a fee. There also was an Agric farm service corporation where the farmers could purchase seeds, fertilizers and pesticides while tractors, plough, slashes were also available for use on the farm at a subsidized fee. There also existed a primary and secondary school to serve the educational needs of both villagers and families in the farm settlement. Aside from schools, the farm settlements did not lack essential facilities like water, electrification and health centres. For settlers, the settlements were home away from home. However, only a few farm settlements are still functional. As a result, facilities have become obsolete, settlements have become bushes, the young and old have migrated from those rural areas to urban centres in search of “lucrative” or “modern” jobs. And the settlements are left to rot away, begging for resuscitation.

Over the years, federal to state and local governments acquired millions of hectares of farmland, especially in rural communities, for farm settlements purposes. The settlements were meant to tackle food insecurity and unemployment. In Oyo state, the government boasts of having nine settlements in Awe, Akufo, Ijaiye, Ilora, Ogbomoso, Ipapo/Iseyin, Eruwa, Ido and Olowa, with some residential and others non-residential. In a recent motion at plenary, deputy majority leader of the Oyo Assembly, Honourable Oyaleke Oyatokun, identified the challenges hindering optimum performance of farm settlements in the state as lack of good roads in and around the settlements, lack of essential facilities like water, rural electrification, health centres and schools. Oyatokun had then advanced the need for the establishment of Oyo State Farm Settlement Board to continuously oversee farm settlements and address its challenges. According to Permanent Secretary, Oyo State Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, Mr Victor Atilola, the major challenge facing the effective functionality of the farm settlements in the state is lack of rural roads to aid accessibility. Atilola said the issue of rural roads was set to be addressed with the state earmarked for rural roads rehabilitation by the federal government, in a World bank assisted Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP3).

“The first challenge in the state is that of rural roads. We need to make the farm settlements and rural areas accessible. On this, Oyo has qualified for a World Bank Assisted programme known as Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP3) of the federal government. This will enable us have 1,000 kilometres of rural roads rehabilitated, with priority on the farm settlements. Addressing this issue will result in more settlers, yields, lower prices, reduction in post harvest loss leading to food security in the state,” Atilola said. The challenges of sustainability of farm settlements in Oyo state is typified in many other states of the South West and across other geopolitical zones of the country.

The failing nature of farm settlements across the nation was recently the subject of discussion at the House of Representatives in an amendment bill seeking the establishment of farm settlements in federal constituencies in the 36 states and the federal capital territory. The amendment is sponsored by member representing Opke/Sapele/Uvwie Federal Constituency of Delta State, Honourable Evelyn Oboro, is titled, “a bill for an act to amend the National Agricultural Land Development Authority Act, 2004”. Oboro explained that the establishment of farm settlements in the hinterlands of various constituencies would discourage rural-urban migration. Furthermore, the amendment aims to vest in the National Agricultural Land Development Authority the powers to establish farm settlements across the country for the purposes of attaining food sufficiency. The Bill if successfully amended will also facilitate the establishment of the National Farm Settlement and Youth Empowerment Agency to create a mechanized system of farming for the country. There are also suggestions that government should establish new farm settlements, with the federal government establishing one farm settlement per state, each state setting up three settlements spread across their senatorial districts and each local government having one settlement. But wouldn’t there be a recurrence of the same misfortune that befell farm settlements set up in the 50s and 70s should government establish new settlements?

In a paradigm shift from government ownership to communities setting up farm settlements, the Alado of Ado Awaye, Oba Ademola Folakanmi, on December 28, 2017 inaugurated the Araromi Community Farm Settlement Scheme. Ado-Awaye, in Araromi local council development area of Oyo state, is known for agriculture, especially cassava farming. Eighty percent of the inhabitants are smallholder farmers cultivating average of one hectare which are quite non-contiguous from one another.

Oba Folakanmi disclosed at the inauguration that 5,000 hectares of land had been donated by various villages like Ado-Awaye, Aagba, Ayide, Osoogun, Ogbolasa, Sagbo Ile, Akinwumi, Wasinmi for the communities driven farm settlement scheme. He added that the scheme will be supervised entirely by the community and on partnership basis between the land owners and the investors. The land will be divided into smaller units of five to ten hectares for each interested investor, based on his or her capacity to individually invest aside from loans to be facilitated by the project. The farm estate, which will be mechanized, will major on cassava and maize production, with youths and women to be given priority. Speaking further, Oba Folakanmi said measures to curtail cattle invasion include erecting government approved signposts on the farm estates, setting up a project directors/Fulani leaders’ consultative forum and hiring security personnel to guard the farm. With land clearing proposed to start January 2018, farm profit will be shared among the investors, the land owners (Obas, Baales, Chiefs, Families), the state government and Araromi local council development area.

Special guest at the inauguration held at Alado palace, Ado-Awaye, Professor Adeolu Akande, remarked that the community farm settlement strategy will help address some of the problems associated with government owned settlements through more effective provision of agricultural extension services, people-driven security against attacks on farmlands and focused cooperatives services for farmers to access financial assistance. Akande, represented by Mr Waheed Adesina, added that the community farm settlement strategy will guarantee food security and address youth unemployment.  He said it was imperative for other communities in the country to borrow a leaf from the Ado Awaye venture as a way to complement efforts of state governments in agriculture, youth empowerment and community development.

Another guest, Managing Director of a cassava processing company in Araromi local council development area, Mrs Yemisi Iranloye said the community farm settlement scheme will engender increased production of farm produce to meet the needs of various companies and dissuade youths from relocating to urban areas for menial jobs. Iranloye who decried the inability of her company to process cassava for six months due to inadequate cassava production in 2017, said increased availability of land for farming, through the scheme, will greatly enhance production.

Other guests to include Oyo State Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Rasheed Popoola and Chairman, Araromi LCDA, Mr Eyitayo Olakunle stated that the scheme was in line with the resolve of the federal government that all Nigerians diversify to agriculture. Pointing to mechanised methods of farming replacing previous laborious work,  Eyitayo admonished youths to tap into the opportunities in the value chain of agriculture with assurance of increased yields and its attendant profit.

The event also saw Project Manager, Oyo State Agricultural Development Programme (OYSADEP), Mrs F. F. Akande emphasize the importance of cluster farming which will enable the people access Anchor Borrowers loans. She assured that the Oyo state government will make available extension agents to enlighten the people on modern farming methods. In the same vein, Mr Victor Atilola said, “When it is willingly coming from community, the issue of land is solved. The government does not want to work with one person but a cluster of farmers, a place where one can see farming done in 5,000 hectares at one place. Input utilization will be easy where tractor can work at a go than in bits of small farms. Mechanisation is also aided. I implore all communities to have settlement scheme of their own such that they can easily have a readymade market for their produce.”