Food Security: Senator Yayi Empowers 5,910 Farmers With Farm Inputs, Grant, Tractors Across Ogun
ABEOKUTA – In pursuant of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for Agriculture and Food Security, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Adeola Yayi has empowered over 5,000 farmers across the 20 local government areas of Ogun state as part of efforts to reduce poverty and tackle hunger in the country.
Senator Adeola empowered the farmers on Tuesday and donated farm equipment and inputs to the farmers trained by the Federal College of Agriculture, Isiagu, Ebonyi state, and Federal Cooperative College, Eleyele, Ibadan.
The senator representing Ogun West senatorial district noted that the empowerment programme was targeted at addressing some of the challenges affecting farmers in line with the renewed hope agenda on food security of President Bola Tinubu administration.
According to him, the renewed hope agenda of President Tinubu has yielded significant results through the launch of National Agriculture Development Fund of N100billion.
He added that the major highlight of the Renewed Hope Agenda on Agriculture was the drive to ensure all year-round farming with a target for three farming seasons annually.
He maintained that the target has made President Tinubu allocate over N350 billion for reticulation and desilting of various dams across Nigeria’s River Basins Development Authorities to provide water for massive irrigation of farm lands.
“A major highlight of the renewed hope agenda on agriculture, Mr. President is the drive to endure all year-round farming with the target for three farming seasons annually. I’ve earlier mentioned, this target has led President Tinubu to allocate over three rounds for the reticulation and distilling of various dams across the nation by all River Basin Development Authority to provide water for massive irrigation of farm land.
“The administration is working towards an holistic development of livestock sector of Agriculture and he has taken the initiative of establishing a full flying Ministry of livestock in Nigeria to address the challenges of livestock production, boost the production of various species of livestock nationwide. A total sum of 12 billion naira is budgeted for the ministry, and rankings will be established in seven states, including Lagos state and local state,” he said.
He listed the challenge to include low productivity, lack of training in modern agricultural practices, costly farm implements and seedlings, as well as limited access to funding.
He explained that the over 5,000 beneficiaries had undergone two months rigorous training on the items that would be distributed, adding that the sum of one hundred thousand naira would be given to each beneficiary as a form financial empowerment.
Senator Adeola commended the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun for complementing the initiative of the federal level with a robust implementation of various assistance to farmers to produce massive in terms of improved seedling, improved seed and seedling distribution of fertilizer, allocation of free farmland to farmers.
Earlier, the Ogun State coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and food security, Dr. Oluwatoyin Àjàyí had said that President Bola Tinubu was making conscious efforts at reducing the state of poverty nationwide through ensuring food availability and security.
Dr. Àjàyí commended senator Adeola’s intervention geared towards supporting small holder farmers in senatorial district and in Ogun state at large to increase their productivity profitability and achieve food security.
Items distributed included tractors, fertilizers, water pump, insecticides, sprayers, cassava stems, among others.
