Food security remains our major priority —Oyo govt

THE Oyo state government has said that adequate food security remains the major priority of the present administration in the state.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune on the occasion of the 2017 World Food Day celebration with the theme: Change the future of Migration, Invest in Food Security and Rural Development, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Oyewole Oyewumi, said the state government is poised at ensuring food security in the state adding that efforts in the last six years have proved that.

“We are happy to be part of the World Food Day celebration. As a nation, we have seen a veritable movement towards increased agricultural production. So, it is worth celebrating and what we just want to say is that Oyo state has witnessed a lot of greening and agricultural activities in the last six years.

“And we are also putting more efforts into encouraging agricultural development to cover all the areas of agriculture. The evidence are there, we are also lucky to have quite a number of agriculture research institutes which we are collaborating with and which is working very hard to increase our yield, improving our farming methods and imparting it to our people, controlling animal diseases as well some epidemics”.

He further stated that the government is improving the quality of seeds that are being provided for farmers. “We have established the first in Nigeria, our own Seed Development Council which is made up of all the stakeholders in the seeds development chain to ensure we get high quality seeds for our farmers at the right price in order to bring forth quality foods as we want to maintain our food basket of the nation status,” he said.