Agriculture: American-based company to establish mechanised farm in Ogun

The efforts of the Ogun State Government at repositioning the agricultural sector for private sector participation have received a boost as an American-based agriculture company is set to establish a mechanised cassava farm in the state.

The Chairman, of Iya Non-organic Foods Company, Mr Edward Ajayi, made this known after he led the founder of the company and other staff of the company to a meeting with the governor, Dapo Abiodun in his office at Oke-Mosan Abeokuta.

Ajayi, who expressed delight with the progress made by the present administration in the agricultural sector, added that the state government had made available a large parcel of land to his organisation for a high-level mechanised farm that would cultivate the highest quality of cassava that could be found anywhere in the world.

“We are bringing in both mechanised approach as well as transfer of technology. This farm will provide jobs, increase Internally Generated Revenue and boost export potentials of the state in North America and in Europe.

“Ogun State potentials are indescribable. From what we have seen from afar and what the governor has explained to us, Ogun State, is a gold mine in Africa, not only in Nigeria, from all perspective particularly when viewed from an angle as encapsulated in the ISEYA mantra,” Ajayi noted.

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He further stated that the Industrial blueprint and the action plan of the state government aimed at ensuring that the entire value chain is property integrated, was commendable, adding that “the Agricultural Processing Zone would make the state centre of agricultural activities in the country in the nearest future.

The mechanised farm, Ajayi explained would provide employment for over 20,000 peasants farmers who would clear the land for planting, stemming and nurture the crops for harvesting, processing, packaging and preparing the agricultural produce for export.

He said apart from farmers, truck drivers and conductors would be needed just as the farm would provide an opportunity to young farmer to learn modern trends in agriculture.

“The value chain is enormous because we are talking about forward and backward integration in the sense that whatever is being produced here has export potentials to the world market and it will also help the local communities with cheap products such as bread as the price will drop because we are substituting wheat with cassava flour,” Ajayi concluded.

Also speaking, the founder of the company, Mrs. Toyin Kolawole, said the enormous agricultural potentials that abound in the state and the attention given to the sector by the state government as well as the desire of her organization to contribute to the food security in the country, led to the partnership with Ogun.

She, however, expressed optimism that the people of the state would welcome and key into the objectives of the mechanised farm, as the company was ready to break new grounds, contribute to the socio-economic development of the state and the betterment of the people.