Abisola Olusanya, Lagos State commissioner for agriculture, has put the contribution of the sector to the economy of the state at N7trn.
Olusanya, who spoke to journalists on Tuesday, as part of activities to mark the first year of the second term of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, also estimated the daily value of the Lagos food market at N9 billion. She added that about 10,000 cattle were slaughtered daily in the state.
“In Nigeria, agriculture contributes 25 percent to the GDP. But in Lagos, agriculture encompasses a lot of food production, so agriculture has contributed N7 trillion in the last couple of years to the Lagos economy.
“This is to tell you that we have the potential, there is opportunity. We will not relent in terms of making it better,” said Olusanya
According to her, the government would soon be inaugurating 50 meat vans at the Oko-Oba abattoir as well as launching the Lagos Last Mile Meat Shops.
These measures, she said, were aimed at controlling, preserving, and ensuring the consumption of wholesome meat by the residents while bringing the market closer to the people.
She added that the government was working around its five-year Agricultural and Food Systems Roadmap (2021-2025) as well as on the Food Security Systems Policy Document.
She believed that unveiling the Last Mile Meat shops and utilising the vans would ensure the availability of meat for residents, create market access and curb the illegality of the transportation of meat carcasses across the state.
Speaking further, she: “The government had over the period under review secured the Lagos food system, leaving no one behind through the Lagos Agric Scholars’ programme while supporting with extension services. We have also supported more than 23986 thereby exceeding our target which included rice, fish and poultry farmers”.
She noted that the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu was also partnering with other states to ensure that the over 200,000 tonnes of paddy required at the Imota Rice Mill are met to boost rice production in the state.
