About 20,000 farmers and fishermen have been empowered by the Lagos State government to further raise their entrepreneurial skills and boost food production in the State.
This gesture through the Ministry of Agriculture is coming under its 2022 Agricultural Value Chains Enterprise Support Programme.
Speaking at the official flag off of the event in Ikorodu area of the State, the State Commissioner of Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya explained that the programme was coming towards the end of the first term of the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the delay, she attributed to the preparation towards the last General Election.
Olusanya said that the empowerment would be presented to farmers across food production and processing clusters communities in 20 Local Government as well as 37 Local Council Development Areas of the state for the next two weeks.
The empowerment inputs handed down to the beneficiaries of this gestures include; smoking kilns, water pumps, herbicides, pesticides, knapsack sprayers, Kerosene Stove, fertiliser and wheelbarrows among others.
Other Strides
The Commissioner noted that aside from these, the administration had also trained about 51,476 and empowered 25,691 women and youth in different agricultural value chain
She said that they include cage and pen culture, poultry, rice production, snailery, bee keeping, coconut arts and craft amongst others, using various government platforms.
Olusanya noted that officials from the ministry had carried out a need assessment on the communities which necessitate the empowerment.
“The 2022 agricultural value chains enterprise activation and farmers’ support programme being flagged off today, is designed to provide agricultural inputs and production assets to 120 fishing and farming clusters/communities across the 20 LGAs in the state.
“All in, over 20,000 fisherfolks and farmers will benefit from the programme while budgetary provision has been made to accommodate a larger number of value chain actors in the 2023 edition of the programme.
“It is my belief that all our fisherfolks and farmers in the beneficiary clusters and communities will make the best use of the inputs received towards the overall development of agriculture in Lagos,” she stressed.
The commissioner noted that the attainment of food security was a major policy thrust of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration given its relevance in promoting the health and well-being of citizens.
Five Year Roadmap
She said “The ministry developed a five Year Agricultural and Food System Roadmap to galvanize public, private, and donor agency efforts in the development of agriculture in the Ssate’s economy.
“The Roadmap also provides solutions for the wholesomeness of food items, reduction in post-harvest losses, and improving linkages with industry with respect to backward integration as well as access to financial services and markets and it is expected to scale food production from the present 20 per cent of demand to 40 per cent by the year, 2025.
Lagos Rice Mill
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Rice Mill, Dr Rotimi Fashola, said that total of 16,466 farmers, fishermen, agro-processors, butchers and marketers have benefitted since programme commenced in 2014.
Fashola said that this year’s edition of the programme would be implemented on a communal basis was a shift from the previous process.
According to him “This programme has been tailored to address the needs expressed by fisherfolks and farmers in fishing and farming clusters/communities across the 57 local government and LCDA. This is to aid food production, processing and preservation towards enhanced livelihood for the fisherfolks and farmers.
Good gestures
In his remarks, the Ayangure of Ikorodu, Oba Kabiru Sotobi, who was elated that the direct beneficiaries of the government gestures are his people, commended the state government for its support to agriculture and food production in the state.
He however urged the beneficiaries to justify the empowerment by increasing their production towards a sustainable food security in the area and Lagos at large.
The Chairman Ikorodu Local Government, Mr Wasiu Adesina also urged the farmers to improve and embrace new method of farming as he appealed to them to use quality seedlings that would increase their yields and become food basket of the Lagos.
Confidence Okwuchi
