….Says Agric Remains Key To Food Security, Job Creation
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on Tuesday, said the establishment of farm laboratories (settlements) across the country remained the only panacea to food insecurity for Nigerians, especially the poor and undernourished in the country.
The governor noted that with the current situation in the country, it had become imperative for Nigerians to embrace agriculture and form the habit of eating what they produce and growing what they eat.
Abiodun made these remarks during his inspection visit to the Soilless Farm Lab, located at Awowo in the Ewekoro Local Government Area of the state.
While relating the farm laboratory project to a similar initiative he saw some years ago in Israel, where people work, live, worship, and play in a farm settlement, the governor described the soilless initiative as an inspiring model that should be replicated across the country.
He noted that he would encourage the setting up of similar settlements in other parts of the state, adding that it is one initiative that the Federal Government would support.
According to him, the state government is going to support the Chief Executive Officer of the project and the trainees, and replicate it in Ogun State, and expressed the hope that other states would also key into it as it would solve food problems and unemployment.
The governor also announced that the state government had waived the payment of any form of fees for the issuance of all title documents to encourage the promoters of the Farm Laboratory.
According to him, the management of the farm would receive all the title documents within 24 hours.
He said: “As a responsible state government, we are going to work with you. I had asked how far you had gone with regularizing your documents for this place, and you said you are not quite sure that you are still struggling with it.
“Today, by the authority vested in me as the Executive Governor of Ogun State, in the next 24 hours, you will receive all your title documents for this place.
“And guess what? I waive all the fees, every single fee. The state government will not charge you a fee for the title document of this place; that is the least we can do.
“I have asked Samson Ogbole (the team lead) to come and meet me so we can both fashion out the kind of support that he needs now and will need in the immediate future and how to replicate what is going on here.
“But I also want to support all of you. I am so encouraged by your level of enthusiasm, commitment, how intentional and deliberate you are, how responsible you all are. You know what you are; you are all champions.
“On behalf of the state government, I am donating N20 million to all of you”, the governor added.
Abiodun also expressed his delight at the beautiful tapestry of people from the length and breadth of the country and even outside the country, commending the team lead of the farm (Samson Ogbole) for taking in over 1,000 trainee farmers between the ages of 18 and 35 years every three months.
The governor further commended Ogbole for building leaders, capacity, and for generating revenue and foreign exchange, describing the Soilless Farm Lab as a perfect example of a public-private partnership that should be replicated across the country.
He also thankedthe Alawowo of Awowo, Oba Abdul-Fatai Olasunkanmi Tijani, for embracing the development of his town and the idea of the Soilless Farm Lab when it was first brought to his attention by the team lead of the farm.
In his remarks, Oba Olasunkanmi Tijani commended the administration of Governor Abiodun for looking after the welfare of monarchs in the state, acknowledging the governor for allowing the establishment of the farm, even after the immediate administration refused to give the nod for the commencement of the project.
Earlier in his remarks, Ogbole noted that the farm started the work-and-learn program in September 2020, adding that the farm has been able to train over 10,000 people between then and November 2022.
He added that in the last one year and six months, the farm has successfully trained 6,000 young people from 28 states across the country, saying that the current batch has foreigners from Cameroon and Togo.
“What we were doing is that everywhere we are going to set up a farm, while we were setting up a farm in that state, we do free training. We used the free training to get workers for free. But as they work for free, they are also learning for free. So, we tagged it ‘Work and Learn,'” he said.
Photo Caption
L-R: Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Agriculture, Dr. Angel Adelaja-Kuye; Secretary to the Ogun State Government (SSG), Mr. Tokunbo Talabi; Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; Commissioner for Education, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu; Commissioner for Industry, Trade and Investment, Adebola Sofela; Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Bolu Owotomo, during the governor’s visit on Tuesday to the Soilless Farm Lab, Awowo, Ewekoro Local Government
