Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on Thursday hinted that governors in southern states had decided to promote inter-state and inter-region trade to foster food security in the country.
The governor, who made this disclosure when he hosted the newly constituted Governing Council of the Federal University of Agriculture (FUNAAB), led by the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Oba Abdul-Rasheed Ayorinde Olabomi, in Abeokuta, said that Ogun State had also decided to establish Farmers’ Markets across the state to ensure food security.
Abiodun, who is the chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum (SGF), said that Southern states had no reason not to promote trade among themselves given the fertile land and human capital endowments across the geopolitical region.
He explained: “As a matter of fact, me and my colleagues in the Southern part of Nigeria have met and have said that we have no reason not to promote inter-state or inter-region trade.
“There is no reason why someone from the South-East or South-South is not buying yam or tomatoes from somebody in the South West. There is no reason why someone from the South West is not buying rice from Ebonyi.
“We should be able to attain food security and sufficiency within our region because we have the human capacity and the necessary arable land. There is nothing we do not have to ensure we achieve this objective”, the governor added.
He said that the Farmers’ Market would be located at strategic locations across the state, including Asero in Abeokuta and Ogere along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
This is even as he hinted that said plans had been concluded by the state government to move the Kara cattle market from its present location to Ogere, where the cattle merchants can have access to a good atmosphere.
Abiodun expatiated: “Our Ministry of Agriculture is working on establishing a few things, one of which is the Farmers Market at strategic locations across the state, and I think this is another initiative we can collaborate.
“One will be at Asero in Abeokuta. One will be somewhere around Lagos-Ibadan expressway, which is around the Ogere area, which we have also designated as our livestock and animal husbandry area.
“We are proposing to move the Kara market to somewhere along there where we have land, and we can provide them with additional land for expansion.
“We believe that with the number of small holder farmers we have in Ogun State, it will be an advantage to them if we have the farmers’ market located in strategic places”, he added.
The governor noted that his administration believed that agriculture remained the way of providing food security, create employment and generate revenue, adding that the Federal University of Agriculture should be at the forefront of championing food security, as the purpose for which it was established.
Abiodun promised to collaborate with the institution in some ways, including cassava production, even as he promised that the Iyana-Camp to Alabata road is already under the radar of his administration.
Earlier in his remarks, Oba Ayorinde Olabomi, who described Governor Abiodun as one of the best governors in the country, called for collaboration with the state government at a time when people were clamouring for food.
The royal father further said that the institution was poised to contribute its quota to ensure food security in the country, and urged the state government to take advantage of the several capacity building programmes, researches and developmental strategies that the institution has to offer to promote food security in the country.
The Pro-Chancellor appealed to the state governor to assist the university by reconstructing the Iyana-Camp to Alabata road, which is currently in deplorable state.
Photo Caption
L-R: Ogun State Head of Service (HoS), Kehinde Onasanya; Aragbiji of Iragbiji and Chairman/Pro Chancellor of Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Oba Abdul-Rasheed Ayorinde Olabomi; Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; the Vice Chancellor, FUNAAB, Prof. Olusola Babatunde Kehinde, and the Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Mr. Tokunbo Talabi, during the visit by the newly inaugurated Governing Council of FUNAAB on Thursday to the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta
