GOVERNMENTS of Ondo, Ekiti and Osun have said they are unperturbed about the recent blockade of food from the North down South, while listing plans to ensure food security in their respective states.
They, however, described the blockade as a wakeup call on the governments to increase and sustain efforts on various programmes to ensure food abundance in their states.
Several officials of government across the states expressed confidence that South-West states will not go hungry, while allaying the fear of the region experiencing food scarcity.
No cause for alarm, we had cleared land, bought tractors, farm inputs —Ondo
Special Adviser to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu on Agriculture, Mr Akin Olotu, averred that the blockade had compelled the people of the region to look inward in order to enhance their agriculture and produce more food.
Olotu said it was high time investors in the SouthWest considered adopting agricultural practices that will ensure self-sufficiency in food production, adding that most of the food items produced in North can be grown in the South-West.
Olotu said: “There is no cause for alarm as far as we are concerned because it is as if we have anticipated it and we have been making arrangement to make our people secure, food-wise. That was why we cleared land for our people, bought tractors and farm input for our people.
“You need to know the quantum of tomato that is being produced today in this state. That was why the blockade had no effect. Nobody complains about scarcity of tomatoes here. I want to tell you that more people are coming into production.
He added: “The blockade is a welcome development anyway, though they have rescinded the decision but we have made up our mind, if they like, they can keep their food, and if they like they can eat, it is no problem to us here.” “The South-West has just floated an agricultural company, SWACO, and the purpose of that is to bring life into agricultural value chain in the region.
“We are now thinking about irrigation to forestall the challenges faced by our farmers last year because of drought. So I don’t see the blockade as a problem, it’s never a problem,” he said. Also speaking, a consultant to the Ondo State Ministry of Natural Resources on Revenue, Chief Alex Ajipe, expressed confidence that South-West states will not go hungry.
We have food items that can feed residents, all our farm settlements active —Ekiti
Ekiti State government described the blockade decision as a blessing in disguise for the state.
Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Olabode Adetoyi, in a chat with the Nigerian Tribune said the administration of Dr Kayode Fayemi from inception in 2018 was determined at ensuring food security by making agriculture one of its five cardinal programmes.
Adetoyi noted that the state is capable of producing food items that will serve all its citizens without taking from other places, adding that there are deliberate efforts in empowering and supporting farmers to cultivate major food items in the state.
He added that over 20,000 hectares of land have been set aside for cultivation of cassava, maize, ginger and other crops through the public-private partnership arrangement.
“Aside that, Ekiti will be the first state to create a special processing agriculture zone that will be mopping up all the surplus produce from our farmers. We are also doing something to cultivate farm where we will have comparative advantage such as rice, cassava and others.
“All our farm settlements are made active now and we are allocating to farmers. We will support them with seeds and stipends and we are now encouraging more of them to plant tomatoes, pepper and others.
“There is no fear of anybody blocking food items from us; we have the market here already and we going to create primary production and processing. All we need to do is to put on our thinking cap and for our governor to support us with adequate security in the farms. We can produce what we can eat,” he added
Our food support scheme will feed 30,000 people for a start —Osun
As part of measures to ensure food abundance, Osun state government said it has unveiled the state’s food support scheme, christened Osun Food Support Scheme. Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ismail Omipidan, said the scheme, which runs from March this year till November next year, will be targeting 30,000 poor and the vulnerable citizens across the state in the first instance.
Omipidan added that in line with Governor Gboyega Oyetola’s policy of promoting small, micro and medium businesses in the state to boost local economy, a programme will be launched this month mandating that all food items should be sourced locally. He added that the state government has also approved the allocation of farmlands to youths who are interested in agriculture.
“Recall that while the governor was presenting this year’s budget before the House of Assembly last year, he revealed that about N1.5 billion was set aside to engage our youths in agriculture, culture and tourism, mining and commerce.
“It is in fulfilment of the promise that the state, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, will be clearing 10,000 acres of land. Of this number, 1,000 have been successfully cleared,” Omipidan added.
We have plan to produce agric commodities in large quantities and export —Lagos
Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, in a recent interview with the Nigerian Tribune, said though the state is not much of an agrarian state, it has a roadmap for agriculture.
According to Olusanya, the plan is to collaborate with world class consultants to ensure that the state is able to produce agricultural commodities in large quantities and even export. She added that the state is keen on transforming the Red Meat value chain right from animal identification to feasibility down to the consumer.
Olusanya said: “I am sure you must have heard from a couple of Mr Governor’s speeches since November, even as far back as when he was doing the budget reading for 2021, he kept mentioning that the agricultural roadmap, five-year roadmap of the Ministry of Agriculture for Lagos State is actually ready. We are hoping to do that launch at the end of this month. “You might want to say Lagos is not so much of an agrarian state, but we have countries like The Netherlands that have similar terrain and they are able to produce agricultural commodities in large quantities and even export.”
South-West has all it takes to be self sufficient in food production —Agric experts
Head of Unit, Crop and Seed Production, Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Dr Johnson Adedayo Adetumbi, stressed that the South-West has all it takes to remain self sufficient in food production.
According to Adetumbi, the region boasts of varied agro ecologies, ranging from high rainforest in Ekiti to southern guinea Savannah in Kishi, Ibadan, Ilora, which favour different crop species.
Aside from the region boasting of relatively fertile crops that can sustain crop production, he added that the region also has international and national agricultural research institutes.
For the South-West to live up to its potential, Adetumbi noted the need to look towards irrigated agriculture, rehabilitation of existing farm settlements, ensuring security of agricultural fields, creation of a working system between farm settlements and research institutes, revitalising extension system and subsidising agricultural inputs to genuine farmers.
Another expert, Dr Adeniyi Amusat, a Research Fellow (Agric Extension), IAR&T, posited that the region is blessed with good land and agroecologies that favour agricultural production, both crop and livestock.
Amusat said: “IAR&T has done a lot of research that are useful for our farmers. But the governors or the state governments have to find a way of improving the extension services.
“The Reseserch-ExtensionFarmers-Input-Linkage System with the acronym REFILS needs to be revitalised in the South-West. When all these are being done in the right way, the South-West will have enough food for the citizens.”
Amusat further said: “I was part of the team that worked with the ADP during ONADEP era in the early 80s. We introduced technologies on cowpea, Soybean production to farmers in Oke Ogun area. Up till today, they are still very good in the production of these legumes. Let all the governors fund ADP in their state appropriately, I want to assure you it will be a different ball game. They should also liaise with research institutes in the zone.”
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