The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun said that his administration has put in place measures that would promote agriculture and ensure food security for the state and the nation at large.
The governor stated this at the launch of the N500 billion Produce for Lagos, an Offtake Guarantee Fund, an agricultural initiative, held at the Lagos House, Ikeja.
One of the measures the governor noted is the creation of the State Farmers’ Information Management System, where information about the number, location, what they produce, and the size of their farms can be easily accessed at the press of a button.
“This Farmers’ Information Management System is a dashboard that allows us to identify all the farmers in the state. As of today, our state has about 160,000 farmers registered on the dashboard, and we know where they are and what they produce,” he said.
He added that the system has given his administration the edge to know what each farmer in the state grows, just as he said that the system has continuously helped the state to scientifically provide inputs and fertilizers for farmers, thereby helping the state to become one of the few states with the lowest food inflation in the country.
Abiodun, along with the host Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, the Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Umaru Bago, Dr. Agbu Kefas of Taraba, and the Governor of Kogi State, Mr. Ahmed Ododo, in a discussion segment, highlighted ways their individual states would contribute to the success of the Lagos Produce programme to the benefit of not only Lagos State but the nation as a whole.
Governor Abiodun emphasized the need for the Federal Government to initiate similar programmes, which he believed would go a long way to guarantee funds for the growth and development of agriculture in the country.
“I think what Lagos State has done here is something that the Federal Government should look into by nationalizing and creating some type of sovereign fund to guarantee food offtake. I think that is what we should be looking at, and I believe that if the Federal Government were to put in place some funds of this nature, probably a Trillion Naira Food Guarantee Fund, it would spin off the entire landscape and ensure that there is indeed food security and food sovereignty.
“What Lagos State has done is truly laudable and very proactive. I think that it has taken a clue from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Initiative in agriculture, where the plan is to farm over 500 million hectares of land. We saw him launching tractors and over 9,000 farm implements a few weeks ago to underscore his commitment to food sovereignty.
“Ogun State is ready for this funding. We have farmers who are already agitated in a scientific manner, so if you can avail them of the funds, they are disciplined, and they will indeed pay back,” he noted.
On the causes of the present high cost of food in the country, the Ogun State helmsman maintained that apart from wastage from farm to market routes, the middlemen syndrome, where food items from Ogun State or Oyo State are tied down at Kara or Ogere by the middlemen waiting for scarcity before releasing the food to the market, making extra profit, also plays a major role.
On his part, Governor Sanwo-Olu said the programme is meant to make food available to Lagosians at an affordable rate, commending President Tinubu for birthing most of the initiatives currently ongoing in the state.
He said the launch of the programme is an attempt to contribute towards the development of the agricultural sector of the country as well as serve as a means of employment for the people.
The Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Umaru Bago, said his state, noted for the production of cattle, is ready to key into the programme by processing meat and transporting it to Lagos and other Southwest states.
The Governor of Taraba State, Dr. Agbu Kefas, said that the launching of the programme isn’t just timely but a strategic plan to raise the bar of the agricultural sector of the country, while the Governor of Kogi State, Mr. Ahmed Usman Ododo, said his state, apart from having arable land for the cultivation of food crops, is also blessed with numerous mineral resources.
He commended President Tinubu for investing heavily in the agricultural sector, adding that agriculture is the solution for addressing the nation’s food challenges.
The governors later signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Lagos Offtake Guarantee Fund.
