Oyo State Government Distributes Agricultural Inputs to Livestock, Piggery Farmers
The Oyo State Government has begun the third phase of the distribution of agricultural inputs to livestock and piggery farmers in the state with the disbursement of two bags of 50kg feeds and two bottles of disinfectant to 1,000 pig farmers.
Furthermore, the phase will witness free vaccination of at least 120,000 cattle with anthrax and CBPP vaccines, while another 250,000 cattle, goat and sheep will also be vaccinated by the state government.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Olasunkanmi Olaleye, said this in Ajaawa, the Ogo-Oluwa Local Government Area Secretariat, during the flag-off of the third phase of the farm inputs distribution to farmers in the state.
He stated that 1,000 sheep and goat farmers across the state will equally receive two bags of 50kg wheat offal each, all in continuation of measures introduced by Governor Seyi Makinde under the Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER) initiative to cushion the effect of economic hardship on residents of the state.
Olaleye, who doubles as the Chairman, SAfER Food Security Sub-Committee, recalled that thousands of poultry and fishery farmers in the state had benefited in the first and second phases of the inputs distribution exercise.
He lauded the state governor for sustaining agricultural activities in the state through the SAfER initiative which, he disclosed, targets crop, poultry, fishery and livestock farmers, and is aimed at supporting small and medium scales so as to relieve them of the current economic hardship occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal.
Olaleye said: “This is just the beginning of the exercise and it will go across all the Local Government Areas we have in the state. In the next few days, we will proceed to the stage of giving seed, cassava cottons, herbicides and knapsack sprayers to crop farmers across the state.
“The programme is aimed at reducing the cost of food in Oyo State and I want to assure you that by the next harvest season, you will see that prices of goods and food would have gone down,” he disclosed.
The commissioner noted that the initiative will improve feed quality and quantity for livestock production so as to grow the economy, recalling that as part of efforts to support farmers in the state, the governor recently pronounced a N600 million subsidy on land clearing, which will see farmers pay only N15,000 per hectare instead of N30,000 being charged earlier.
He stated: “I would like to urge the farmers to be faithful with the government and to also support our people. If they are getting free things from the government, they should also ensure they reduce the prices of goods in a corresponding manner as well. Don’t forget that the government has given out 400kg of maize to 2,600 poultry farmers and we have given out to 1,000 fish farmers as well.
“The governor has said that for the next six months, no farmer should pay tax on farm produce in the state. And he has promised to support farmers with 50 percent payment on the tractor used on their farmlands. We have also given out a N1bn loan to farmers, and the government is ready to do more for the farmers in the state,” Olaleye declared.
In their separate goodwill messages, the member representing Ogo-Oluwa State Constituency, Honourable Abideen Adeoye, and the Chairman, Ogo-Oluwa Local Government Area, Mr Oluwaseun Ojo, expressed gratitude to Governor Makinde for taking the SAfER initiative to the grassroots.
Earlier in her opening remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mrs Christianah Abioye, commended the state government for the continuous exercise and support to the farmers to improve their businesses and urged the beneficiaries to complement the effort of the state government by making good use of the interventions.
In his remarks, the Chairman, Piggery Farmers Association, Mr Tope Oye-Alamu, expressed gratitude to the state government for the inclusion of pig farmers as beneficiaries of the state government initiative, noting that his sector had never benefited from such effort before.
Also speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs Mary Adebayo, a pig farmer in Ogo-Oluwa Local Government Area, appreciated the gesture of the state government.
