Ogun acquires 3 mills to boost ofada rice production

As Nigeria seeks self-sufficiency in rice production and continuous reduction of its food import bill, Ogun state is already keying into the project through its direct investment in the acquisition of three mills to boost ofada rice production in the state.

Ogun has also procured tractors and land clearing equipment to complement the already existing fleets in the state to increase the accessibility to agricultural equipment to farmers.

Ibikunle Amosun, Governor of Ogun state disclosed this at the Trade Promotion and Knowledge Fair, organised by the Federal Government and International Fund for Agricultural Development Programnme (IFAD)-assisted Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), recently in Abeokuta.

“Agricultural activities should not stop at production level alone, consideration should be given to processing as it prolongs the shelf life of the products and guarantee good reward for farmers,” said Amosun, who was represented by Adepeju Adebajo, Commissioner for Agriculture, Ogun State.

Read Also: Media Right Agenda wants death of Onifade investigated

“We understand that there is a huge gap between supply and demand in every value chain, so it is very important that as a government we step into the gaps to ensure that we can boost food production to meet our need as a nation and also our industrial needs as well.

“We need to provide the needed infrastructure to achieve this and also put in place policies and processes to provide ease of access to land for production,” the governor added.

He appreciated the IFAD assisted VCDP contribution to agricultural development in the state, stressing that the market led approach of the programme is in agreement with the Ogun programme of industrialisation through increased agricultural productivity.

He said it has facilitated the provision of agro-input such as fertilizers, cassava cuttings, rice seeds and herbicides for 3,044 farmers in five local governments, and construction of cassava and rice processing centres in Obafemi-Owode and Yewa North local governments and the development of 500 hectares of farmland for cultivation of cassava and rice across the five local government areas among others.

The governor added that the payment of 2016 and 2017 counterpart has been approved and released, stressing that the state is prepared to replicate the VCDP model across the entire state.

“This administration has embarked on youth empowerment initiative through the establishment of a Model Farm Estate at Owowo, aimed at resuscitating the old farm settlement scheme of the defunct Western Region of Nigeria,” he said.

Amosun said the estate in this first phase, accommodates 80 direct participants while it also offers indirect employment to over 200 farm workers.

Also speaking during the fair, Akin Lawson, special adviser to the Ogun state government, who was representing Adepeju Adebajo, commissioner of agriculture said that the objective of the fair was to catalyse a market led value added production, processing and marketing of rice and cassava commodities through the adoption of best practices and innovations that will increase efficiency and attract youths.

Ameh Onoja, national programme coordinator, VCDP, said “the objective is to showcase the latest technology along the various value chains.”

“Ogun state has a unique opportunity because of the brand of ofada rice that we are promoting here,” Onoja added.

Josephine Okojie