OGSG moves to boost food production with workers’ backyard farming

As part of measures to boost food production and ensure food security in the State, the Ogun State Government has begun an aggressive advocacy among the civil and public servants in the State on backyard farming as a means of complementing the efforts of the Government in ensuring food security.

Speaking at the 2024 World Food Day Celebration organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security Kehinde Onasanya, the State Head of Service, declared that the State Government put up a capacity-building programme for civil servants on backyard farming in order to empower and teach the civil and public servants on farming and agricultural practice.

According to him, workers’ involvement in the initiative will further underscore their commitment to the collective goal of food security in the State, as well as strengthen the capacity of households to contribute immensely to the larger economy.

The Head of Service said the training, which is aimed at equipping participants with the requisite knowledge and skills to actively engage in and navigate the complexities of backyard farming, is desirable as it would inculcate a culture of “grow what you eat.”

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Earlier, Bolu Owootomo, Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security in the State, said that the Government was only training and empowering civil and public servants on backyard farming, but also had also started engaging pupils and students across the Secondary and Tertiary Institutions of Learning in the State on agricultural practice and agribusiness..

Owootomo, who noted that the year 2024 celebration featured a comprehensive seminar and training on backyard farming for civil servants to spur up food production, stated that the programme would help conserve limited resources, feed families, and make food available to all, as well as provide raw materials for farmers’ use.

Appreciating the State Government and all stakeholders for making the celebration a huge success, Kehinde Jokotoye, the Permanent Secretary in the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry, stated that the celebration was aimed at enhancing the capacity of the workforce to bring food to all tables.

The highlight of the celebration was the symbolic presentation of farming seeds and fertilizer to some participants by the State Head of Service, Commissioner for Agriculture and Foods Security, among others.