Southwest govt maps out security strategy to boost food production

The governments of the six states in the southwest region have mapped out a security strategy that includes massive land clearing to boost food production.

They have also agreed to strengthen farm security by creating specialized units within the Western Security Network code-named Amotekun Corps.

This formed part of the resolutions reached at the roundtable on food security hosted by the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission on Wednesday in Ibadan.

The Southwest Governors’ Forum directed the Commission to convene the meeting last week with the mandate to fashion a regional agricultural template.

The five honourable commissioners for agriculture from Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo—Ebenezer Boluwade, Bolu Owotomo, Olayato Aribo, Babatola Faseru, and Olasunkanmi Olaleye—were present at the meeting. Mr Emmanuel Audu, the permanent secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, represented the state’s commissioner.

In his opening remarks, the Director General of the Commission, Dr. Seye Oyeleye, said it is important to dispel unfounded rumours that the region has lost its capacity to produce food.

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Therefore, in accordance with the Southwest Governors Forum’s directive, he charged the meeting to ” come up with recommendations that state governors can easily implement” within the next few months.

Other resolutions reached at the meeting were geared towards boosting agriculture. These include: massive land clearing, enhanced security, and large-scale production of short-term crops like maize, sweet potatoes, and vegetables.

Other plans include revitalizing moribund dams for irrigation, improving mechanisation across the value chain, adopting a cluster farming model, expanding input distribution, and establishing an electronic agriculture database.

Other participants at the meeting include Dr. Theophilus Onadeko, the recently appointed Managing Director of Southwest Agriculture Company, SWAgCo, a subsidiary of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, and Chief Kola Akosile from NACCIMA.

Also in attendance were agriculture stakeholders like, Akande Omoyemi from NIRSAL, and Kumaraswamy Sai, head of marketing of Arise Industrial Platform, Ogun State.