The Ogun state government has restated its commitment to mechanised agriculture to ensure food security in the state, as the state government working round the clock to make farm produce availability at the markets
The state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Hon. Bolu Owotomo, said this during a 2-day training organised by the Contec Global Agro LTD, in collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture and Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP), with the theme; “Training For 2024 Planting Season and Distribution of Inputs and Seminar to the Farmers.”
The training which meant for farmers extension officers and held at the OPIC Plaza, Office, Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta, Owotomo said that the training was another parameter and milestone in ensuring farmer’s improvement in agriculture output and their livelihood, saying that it would enhance their productivity and agricultural value chain.
He said that about two thousand farmers across the state were empowered with the agriculture inputs and herbicides to boost their farming methods, noting that government would rest on it oars in ensuring food security across the state.
“Indeed, food security is our top priority in the state, as the administration-led by Dapo Abiodun has ordered the massive empowerment of farmers across the state, including women farmers, so the state had distributed both crop inputs, herbicides and birds to the farmers, in order to boost their productivity and make food available for people’s consumption,” Owotomo said
He further said that over 500 women farmers were given N50 thousand each to boost their food products, as well as providing them agricultural equipment, in terms of mechanized farming to boost and increase their farming outputs.
He added that it was imperative to make use of the training in order to make a great and positive impact in their daily activity, so as to increase their productivity and enhance their livelihood.
Also, speaking the OGSTEP Project Coordinator, Mrs. Mosunmola Owo-Odusi, said that the training was set aside to improve capacity building of the state farmers and their practice, saying agricultural sector was one the OGSTEP core programme in ensuring that farmers were adequately motivated and empowered.
She said that training of farmers was imperative, especially in achieving food security in the state and boosting of food value chain, noting that it would also increase the state government Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
“As you can see that OGSTEP is an agency of change, it encourages extension officers, farmers, empowers them through training and retraining, and also to educate them on new method to use in their farming productivity and outputs of their food production,” Odunsi said.
In her remarks, Mrs. Oluseyi Olugbire, the Peoject Manager, Agricultural Development Sector in OGSTEP, said that the training was designed to promote the farmers, especially in the area of innovative technologies and climate friendly, noting that it was to training them on how to use fertiliser organic biofriendly products.
She added that it was also to provide support to farmers in the area of fertiliser and environmental friendly products, as the training was towards empowering the extension officers in the state, so as to be able to use the products and step it out to farmers.
