• Zone sure of buoyant food harvest next season — DAWN
In line with the resolutions of the South-West Governors Forum meeting held in Lagos on June, the Director-General, Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, Seye Oyeleye, has said the zone is poised for buoyant harvest next year going by measures taken by the six states of the South-West.
At the meeting hosted by the forum chairman, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governors had at the end of the meeting acknowledged efforts of the federal government to ensure food security while mandating their commissioners for agriculture to begin to meet and set up a working template which will ensure collaboration based on each state’s comparative advantage in the sector.
True to the mandate of the governors, the DAWN Commission Director-General said the commissioners had, since June, met about four times and put in place measures that could guarantee food abundance.
Oyeleye said the DAWN Commission had collated the plans of action sent in by the six state governments, relating to agriculture, for onward transmission to the chairman of the South-West Governors Forum, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Oyeleye said: “A lot of activities that will impact output of food in the next harvest season have taken place in the South-West and DAWN Commission has already collated the reports which will be sent to the chairman of the South-West Governors Forum.
“All the six states have sent in their reports, and it encompasses the areas touched at the June meeting in Lagos.
“A lot has been done particularly in the agric sector. Since the governors met in June, I have met with the agric commissioners of the South-West states about four times just to make sure that we do what should be done.
“It excites us that our states are focusing more on agriculture so that in the next harvest season, there won’t be outcry about food shortage.”
Across the South West, Nigerian Tribune found out the measures in the agric sector taken by the six state governments in consonance with the Governors Forum mandate at the meeting in June.
Ondo
In a bid to address the growing concerns over food security in Ondo State, the state government has prioritised supporting farmers through the distribution of agricultural inputs across the state’s 18 local governments.
Speaking on the efforts of the state government, the state commander of Amotekun, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, said Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa had directed the state security outfit, Amotekun, to establish forest rangers to put an end to killing of farmers and destruction of their farmlands.
According to him, the establishment of the forest rangers will help flush out criminals in the forest and rid the state of criminal elements.
Adeleye added: “We are carrying out the directives of Mr. Governor pursuant to the Ondo State Livestock and Grazing Regulations and Establishment of Ranch Law 2021, as amended, which mandates the Ondo State Security Network Agency, Amotekun Corps, to oversee and enforce peaceful relationship between the farmers, herders and inhabitants of the forests.
“In view of Mr Governor’s directives, we are establishing six major control points for a special unit of the Amotekun Corps that is coded ‘Amot Rangers.’”
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Babalola Ayoade, stated that the state government will begin repairing 20 kilometers of township roads across major towns, aimed at improving access to market from farms.
On his part, the Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner, Mr Olayato Aribo, said the governor recently approved the sum of N2billion as additional intervention fund to enhance food security and cushion effect of economic challenges on the people of the state.
“For the long term solution, the council approved the sum of N2billion for various initiatives including clearing of lands and provision of farming equipment. We have identified lands across various local government areas and we have also identified dams and water boards across the state,” Aribo said.
Aribo also said the state government has embarked on initiatives such as cluster farming to enhance security for farmers and boost agricultural productivity.
He said the state government has provided support for farmers, including the distribution of palliative commodities and farm machinery.
Aribo added that the state government distributed fertilizers to farmers across the state, recently, while the governor has also ordered the distribution of 5,520 bags of NPK 20-10-10, 4,140 bags of NPK 27-13-13, 4,140 bags of NPK 15-15-15, and 4,200 bags of Urea fertilisers to farmers to all the 18 local government areas.
He added: “We have embarked on massive construction and rehabilitation of access roads in various communities through the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP).”
The commissioner added that about 40 trailers of grains are to be distributed to livestock farmers across the 18 local government areas of the state, as part of measure to address escalating food prices in the country.
He however, said the state was keen on buying tractors for farmers to aid food production.
Aribo said: “As of today, we have one functional tractor working in the ministry. Unlike in the North, we have savanna, but here, tractors cannot enter the forest.
“We need bulldozers to clear the forest here. We intend to do a thorough job. We need bulldozers to remove all the trees and stumps.
“That is why we need an equipment hiring company. We have discussed and agreed. Every farmer knows the cost of tractorisation per hectare. We promise a 25 percent discount. We will still buy, but we should start immediately by engaging a company to start for us. We are in a hurry to produce food.”
Aribo said the state government has trained extension workers on agribusiness while 4,563 youth and women have also been empowered with agriculture inputs, while over 10,000 high-breed cocoa had been purchased and distributed to farmers at a subsidized rate.
Lagos
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, said all the commissioners of agriculture had since commenced meeting more regularly, to see where each of the states had comparative advantage that would lead to a reduction of prices of farm produce in the zone.
He noted that Lagos remained strong in the area of fishery and coconut farming, as well as being the biggest consumer in agricultural produce in the country, and that the state government under Governor Sanwo-Olu was “trying to do the biggest food and logistics hub if not in Africa but in West Africa at Ketu Ereyin.”
This he said is to ensure that all the produce coming from the other states can be stored, and serve as a bank in case of acute food shortage.
Omotoso said: “You know like Lagos now, we are strong in the area of fishery; we are equally strong in coconut farming and all the others and we are also the biggest consumer of agric produce in the country. Lagos consumes over 50 percent of anything coming from all the other states of the federation.
“So, for us to be able to ensure that all of the losses that we used to have in the past, we are trying to do the biggest food and logistics hub in Africa; and if not in Africa, but in West Africa, at Ketu Ereyin so that all the produce coming from the other states we can store them there and God forbid, if there is famine, the capacity of that place can feed at least five million people for about three months.
“Apart from that, if there is inflation, high prices as we have now, we can bring out produce from that place to stabilize prices.”
He also disclosed that Governor Sanwo-Olu signed an agreement in China, concerning rice production.
“There are a lot of other states in the southwest that are planting rice, like Ekiti; we are working with them. We are working with Ogun State, so the collaboration is on, and the people will soon begin to see the result,” Omotoso added.
Ekiti
The Ekiti State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Ebenezer Boluwade, listed measures taken to include clearing lands for farmers especially young citizens, constructing rural roads to connect farms to the market, providing subsidized tractorization, subsidizing inputs and fertilizers, incentives aimed at revolutionizing agriculture in the state.
Boluwade added that the state’s broiler production scheme had achieved significant success with beneficiaries producing broiler for the state and beyond.
He added that Governor Biodun Oyebanji had partnered with relevant organisations and entities towards offering support and investment in the agriculture sector for enhanced food production.
“We will be moving our production turnover from 10,000 birds/circle to 20,000/circle. We hope to double this before the year ends. Investment by private sector in processing is also in the offing,” Boluwade said.
The commissioner also disclosed that the State Executive Council two weeks ago approved over N400 million for the clearing of lands and procurement of tractors for farmers across the state to boost food production in the state.
He added that the hitherto challenge of insecurity in the farm due to the activities of herders are being addressed with support from stakeholders in the sector.
According to him, a farmers-herders mediation committee has been put in place across the 16 local government areas of the state to ensure a harmonious working relationship among the people.
This measure, he noted, had helped build confidence of farmers to return to their farms to ensure sustained food production that will beat down the present high cost of items.
Oyo
Measures taken by the Oyo State government to ensure food sufficiency include the recent introduction of a tractorisation subsidy policy, through which the state government defrays 50 percent of the cost of hiring tractors to clear farmlands.
This was in addressing the challenges faced by smallholder farmers in ploughing their farmlands as many complained of huge cost of either hiring or buying tractors.
To actualise this, Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Olasunkanmi Olaleye, said the state had resolved to deploy a booking app that would provide adequate information about the farms to the ministry as a way of guarding against anyone gaming the system.
He added that the ministry also trained its extension officers and directors of agriculture across the 33 local government areas on the farmers’ booking applications and providing needed support to the farmers.
Olaleye said, “We have trained our extension officers on the Farmer’s Booking Application and we are doing this in partnership with Hello Tractors.
“What this means is that extension officers can go to the farm now based on the request of beneficiaries, take measurements, co-ordinate activities and tell us the exact size of the farmland.
“This will make it possible for us to know the number of hectares the farmer has and make it possible for us to determine the 50 percent payable on that.
“We are also going to be working with private tractor owners who are going to be tracked. The Farmers’ Booking App we have is such that, as our.
