Ekiti Governor courts Dutch investors, touts agriculture as growth engine

By Chinyere Anyanwu

The Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has stressed the potential of agriculture as the most sustainable pathway to tackling Nigeria’s economic challenges of unemployment, food insecurity and poverty

The governor, who stated this recently while receiving the Consul General of the Netherlands, Michel Deelen, and his team in his Office in Ado Ekiti, said this accounts for his administration’s policy of using agriculture as a tool to banish poverty, create employment opportunities, and ensure food security in the state.

Oyebanji said agriculture remains a core priority of his government, not just as a means of ensuring food sufficiency but also as a tool for wealth creation and youth empowerment.

The governor explained that from the inception of his administration, deliberate efforts had been made to reposition the agricultural sector through youth-focused programmes and modern farming initiatives.

He noted that through the state’s, “Bring Back Youth into Agriculture”, over 5,000 young people have been engaged in various aspects of agribusiness.

While commending the Netherlands for its global leadership and expertise in agriculture, the governor expressed the state’s readiness to collaborate with the European nation to enhance productivity, noting that such partnership would further accelerate the state’s agricultural revolution and contribute meaningfully to the state’s overall economic growth.

“I believe strongly that for a people or a country to develop, especially in Nigeria, giving God’s given resources, lands and human capital, that if we get agric right, we will solve at least 60 per cent of our problem. We will solve the problem of food insecurity, unemployment and poverty. We will solve the problem of insecurity itself.

“So when we came into office, I was deliberate about our intervention in the agric sector and we are one of the few states that within two years, we pulled off the streets 5,000 youths to agric and you can verify this,” the governor asserted.

Earlier, Michel Deelen, the Consul General of the Netherlands, who expressed his admiration for the remarkable development stride of the state government, particularly in the agriculture sector, said he was impressed with how the state has transformed agriculture into a major driver of economic growth and youth empowerment, noting that the ongoing agriculture revolution has positioned the state as one of the most promising states in Nigeria.

While expressing the readiness of the Netherlands government to partner with the state in critical areas such as agricultural technology, irrigation, capacity building and value chain development, the Consul General noted that the Netherlands, being a world leader in modern agriculture, would be glad to collaborate with Ekiti State government in knowledge exchange, investment promotion and introduction of innovative farming systems that can further strengthen the state’s agriculture base.