Ekiti state government has recorded remarkable landmarks at re-discovering the ‘green oil’ for socio-economic and infrastructural development of Ekiti state as it was in the days of the late sage, Obafemi Awolowo, who governed the the then Western region as the Premier.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Olabode Adetoyi made the remarks while receiving the Chairman of Lagos State Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who doubled as the Chief Executive Officer of FarmCredit.ng, Africanfarmer Mogaji, who was on a courtesy visit to him in his office in Ado-Ekiti.
Adetoyi said that the determination of the administration of Kayode Fayemi to turn around the internally-generated revenue (IGR) base of the state and make it less dependent on cash allocation from the Federation Accounts by promoting agricultural value chain, has been yielding positive results.
He posited that government has put several measures in place to make agribusiness thrive, with the involvement of medium and large scale investors in farming activities as participants in the ‘art and science’ of food production.
The Commissioner hinted that he had tasked the Produce and Tree Crops Department of the ministry to ensure speedy cocoa revolution that would relaunch the state back to its original pedestal, adding that Ekiti state must attain a production capacity of over 500,000 metric tons in the next couple of years.
The agribusiness expert lamented the rate at which agricultural products are wasting away in the state, with a call on interested investors to direct their efforts towards ensuring that wastages are completely curtailed, particularly in the production of yam, plantain and orange.
He stressed that the crops, if properly focused on by investors, could earn them and the state huge revenue, calling on Mr Mogaji to support the drive of making the state the food basket of the South West by investing in the production value chain of processing, packaging, branding and marketing.
The Commissioner said that work is ongoing in the 3 major water dams of Ero, Egbe and Itapaji to allow for all-year-round farming, with an assurance that government was poised at supporting all investors to boost their production, reduce unemployment and create wealth among its people.
Adetoyi said that more investors are expected in livestock and aquaculture development for the state to be less dependent on neighbouring states to meet its people’s daily demand for cattle, poultry and Fishery products.
Corroborating the position of the Commissioner, the Chairman, Agriculture Transformation committee of the Ministry, who is also the General Manager of Fountain Agriculture Marketing Agency (FAMA), Gbenga Odesanmi said that the state needs the participation of investors in production, processing, packaging, branding and
marketing, particularly, yam and plantain that have comparative production advantage in the state.
Odesanmi who described food as a veritable weapon of war, said that any government that failed to feed its people would be easily defeated.
