The Osun State Government is set to begin be the allocation of land to farmers, as part of efforts to revamp the Agriculture sector and make the State the food basket of the Southwest region.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Adedayo Adewole said this during the inspection tour of some of the ploughed lands.
This sites to be allocated are located along Araromi/Orile-Owu road, and Araromi-Oke-Odo in Ife South Local Government Area of the State.
Adewole stated that the move would lead to food sufficiency.
He said; ”out of the 1000 hectares of land set aside for the initiative, 400 hectares had been ploughed for the plantation of cocoa, cassava and other agriculture produce.”
According to him, the ploughed lands, located in Ife South Local Government Area and Ifon-Osun, in Orolu Local Government Area would be allocated to over 200 ready farmers in the state.
Adewole said; “The State had cleared over 23 hectares of land in Ifon-Osun for tomatoes plantation, and the ploughed lands will be allocated appropriately to interested farmers within the axis.
“The initiative is to rejuvenate the agricultural sector by making it more attractive and productive to farmers, particularly the young ones who were hitherto being hindered by avoidable circumstances.”
The Commissioner described the initiative as a noble intent to reawaken the farmers’ consciousness and increase productivity, saying, a lot of young farmers who have shown interest in farming will be empowered with the initiative.
“This is a continuous exercise. As you can see, the team of the Surveyor General has been working on this to ensure proper management of the lands and we are hoping to commence the allocation soon.
“On this first phase, we are looking mainly for cocoa and cassava farmers to populate the entire 1000 hectares and the priority will be given to people from Ife,” Adewole explained.
The Commissioner said the state has carried along the traditional rulers and other community stakeholders in the allocation process to identify the real farmers.
He maintained that the move would reawaken productivity in agriculture to empower the youths and create more employment opportunities in the agriculture sector.
One of the Cocoa farmers, Mr. Odulana Tajudeen, assured the government of their readiness to put the lands to good use.
He commended the initiative, saying the support is coming at the right time.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
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