South-West to unveil agro-master plan for food supply – Ambode

Six states of the South West are jointly working on an agricultural master plan to push their frontier in food supply in the country.
The agro plan is subset of the South West Regional Integration aimed at pulling resources for the benefits of the states in particular and the country in general. The states include Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Lagos, and Ekiti.
Giving an insight into the agro master plan, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos said it would facilitate the effective use of the massive arable land in the region.
Ambode, who visited other governors of the region, including Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, said all the governors were in sync about economic integration, and efforts were being made to fully unleash the agro potential of the region.
“We have in the pipeline an agricultural summit that we are planning in conjunction with the entire south west states and the idea is for us to create a master plan that allows other States in the region to partner with us.
“Yes, we have done something with Kebbi State but it is never enough. Lagos State is the major consumer of agricultural products and the idea is that there are so much of fertile land in the South west and we must quickly start to integrate all the south west states so that they will be able to provide to us those things that we consume in Lagos. It is a win-win partnership and it is also in the overall interest of the economic integration that we are talking about in the South West,” Ambode said last week.
The governor, who emphasised that the south west holds the future of food security in Nigeria, observed that the available fertile land places the region on a sound footing to use agriculture not only to grow the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the region but also to ensure food availability for the country.
“I want to extend my hand of fellowship because I believe strongly that the future of food security in Nigeria actually lies in the south west and we believe strongly that no matter how much of investment we are doing in terms of agriculture, in terms of commerce, Oyo State holds that key also for us to actually integrate backwards and have a bigger GDP for the south west states as we envisioned.
“I am happy that in the next few days, we will be holding another South West Governors’ Meeting in Abeokuta and we will also like to use that as an opportunity for us to continue to speak to the future of the Yoruba nation so that we ensure that the future of the region is guaranteed,” he said.
Governor Ajimobi of Oyo, on his part, said Lagos as the economic capital and most viable state in Nigeria has a pivotal role to play in the economic development and sustainability of the south west.
He added that Lagos was in a position to help the South West in terms of economic integration and development and by extension the rest of Nigeria, just as Oyo State is also the political capital of the region.

 
JOSHUA BASSEY