Ogun targets farmers, food value system, others, says Commissioner

The Ogun state agricultural programme under the leadership of Prince Dipo Abiodun has focussed majorly on backward integration through rural farmers towards commercial productivity to create more jobs, industrialization and partnership with strategic private sector stakeholders across the globe for the purpose of achieving mechanization in the practice of agriculture. The Ogun state Commissioner of Agriculture Dr. Adeola Samson Odedina said this while representing his Governor at the Annual South West research review held last month at Moor plantation, Ibadan.

Dr. Odedina said that this pragmatic effort has become inevitable in the drive of the state to encourage the youths into engaging in agricultural activities as a mean of livelihood and job creation, adding that many youths from the state through Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) anchor borrower programme registration had been enrolled in cassava production and other value chains of food productivity.

He applauded the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T) for being very useful as a partner in terms of training in the best agricultural practice of farming with good analysis of soil survey in almost all the local government of the state saying that ‘’ i want to acknowledge the role of IAR&T in Ogun state agricultural programme because of all the good things we are hearing about Ogun state is as result of the institute’s support to the state ADPs’’

The Agric commissioner pointed that the administration of his Governor has given a serious look into extension services in the state with immediate employment of about one hundred and eleven (110) extension agents towards achieving the best agronomics practices across the local government, adding that his state has the highest numbers of extension workers in all its local governments for effective running of anchor programme in food productivity.

Dr. Odedina emphasised on the need to take the concept of value chain food system very serious towards enhancing productivity in view of being the biggest state running CBN anchor borrower programme in cassava, rice and others, saying that ‘’ we are running the biggest anchor programme in Nigeria especially for cassava where about 25,000 registered and another 50,000 registered for other value chains of agriculture’’.