Ogun State - Ogun empowers farmers for large scale farming

[OgunState]

 Ogun State Government has allocated a total of 3,290 hectares of land to interested agricultural investors as part of efforts to enhance vibrant commercial farming and ultimately turn the State to the food basket of the nation. This move, according to the Commissioner in the Ministry of Agriculture, Ronke Sokefun is also expected to make the State a dependable source of raw materials for agro-based industries, generate employment opportunities and attain desirable level of export for improved overall foreign exchange earnings of the country.

Sokefun made these disclosurestoday in Abeokuta at the ministerial briefing, adding that farmers in the State had also accessed loans of over N100m to enable them move from subsistence to large scale farming. She recalled that the State Government had earlier this year procured N.5b agricultural land clearing equipment and tractors for farmers to rent at a subsidized rate also to enhance mechanized farming.

On government’s effort to increase protein intake of the populace, the Commissioner stated that apart from ensuring the wholesomeness of meat and meat products through the inspection of slaughtered animals in slabs across the State, three government-owned fish farms across the senatorial districts had been refurbished and their hatcheries completed.

She explained that the fish farms which are already operating produce an average of 29 tons of table–size fish for consumption and 500,000 fish seeds for sale to fish farmers annually.

“Let me inform you that the farms owned by government in the three senatorial districts which I must add are fully operational are expected to produce an average of 29 tons of table sized fish yearly. The farms have also been equipped with new hatcheries which we expect to produce 500,000 fish seeds annually for sale at subsidized rates to fish farmers and modern smoking kiln for fish processing. This, we hope will promote value addition in fish products” Sokefun revealed.

The Commissioner added that government had begun the rehabilitation of the poultry breeding and hatchery phases at Emuren in Ijebu-Ode Local Government Area of the State with the potential of producing 1.5m day old chicks yearly for sale to poultry farmers and rehabilitated the State central livestock feed depot which had been moribund for 15 years.

She declared that in an effort to empower and engage young university graduates in agriculture and make them employers of labour, government was constructing a model farm estate at Owowo in Ogun Central Senatorial district, saying that government plans to replicate same in the remaining two senatorial districts.

“The government hopes to promote self employment through agriculture. The model farm estate which is sited on 125 hectares of land is designed to provide modern accommodation, poultry farms fish pounds as well as arable land for crop cultivation for 50 young agriculturists and will be replicated in the other two senatorial districts”, she said.

The Commissioner also added that the State Cassava Revolution Programme (CRP) had distributed 25,000 bundles of improved varieties of cassava cuttings to farmers under the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) and was collaborating with the International Institute for Agriculture (ITA) and the Federal Government for the creation of higher yielding cassava variety demonstration farms.

 

Via: Ogun State Government - Official Press Release