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By Chinyere Anyanwu
The Ogun State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Bolu Owotomo, has disclosed that over 30,000 farmers have benefitted from various intervention programmes of the state government for farmers to boost their productivity and livelihood.
The Commissioner made the disclosure recently at the flag-off ceremony for distribution of agricultural inputs and services to benefiting farmers under the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP) in Yewa Agricultural Zone.
Owotomo said the event organised in conjunction with the zone’s Value Chain Development Firms, RBS-JDPC-ABEOCCIMA Consortium and International Business for Agricultural Development (IBAD Limited) was to further affirm the state government’s commitment to the agricultural sector.
He stated that over 20,000 farmers have been supported through OGSTEP with significant investments exceeding N600 million covering mechanization services, supply of fertilizer, seedlings and stems, agrochemicals, day-old chicks, fish feed, poultry feed, training and capacity building, among others.
The commissioner said the state government had also facilitated off-taker linkages for expected yields with an estimated 107,000 metric tonnes of produce anticipated from last season production.
“Today we gather not to merely distribute inputs but to sow seed of change and progress through these initiatives. We aim to empower our farmers with resources, knowledge and support to enhance productivity, improve livelihood and ensure food security,” he said.
The OGSTEP Coordinator, Mrs. Mosunmola Owo-Odunsi, represented by the Programme Manager, OGSTEP Agric, Dr. Oluseyi Olugbire, in her welcome address, highlighted the various achievements of the programme, noting that the testimonies received have so far proved that the state government was indeed committed to the well-being of farmers.
For their part, the Managing Director, RBS Consortium, Mr. Akinremi Osijo, and his counterpart from IBAD Limited, Mr. Jamiu Adeyemi, said the event was to create visibility for the OGSTEP programme and its stakeholders’ efforts in transforming the zone’s agribusiness environment and its governance for collective wealth creation through strategic, futuristic thinking and commodity markets.
According to them, the event was to help industry stakeholders understand the interdependence nature in co-creating utility value and wealth through agricultural commodity markets as well as bridge the gaps in the food and agricultural supply chain.
The distributed inputs include high quality seeds, fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides and mechanical services. Training programmes, market linkages and equipping farmers with skills to enable them adopt best practices were also provided.
