The Executive Adviser to the Oyo State Governor on Agribusiness, Dr Debo Akande says there is a need for Federal Government to provide an enabling environment and resources for fabricators to improve equipment needed for agricultural produce.
He stated this during stakeholders meeting in Ibadan with fabricators, farmers and members of Innovative Lab for Policy Leadership in Agriculture and Food Security, PILAF
Dr Akande, who is also the Director General, OYSADA, posited that if agricultural equipment being produced locally is standardized, no farmer would import equipment to process produce.
Dr Akande, while highlighting problems facing fabricators including collective knowledge constraint and funds explained that what the nation’s fabricators were practising was a more competitive approach than collective practice as being employed in other countries of the world.
The DG OYSADA, therefore, called for a special fund for fabricators to improve their equipment with a view to assisting farmers in the value chain.
He said Oyo State Government was poised to provide enabling environment for fabricators in the state to thrive and the needed resources for the local fabricators to better their own equipment.
“We need to put a specific fund in place for the issue of fabrications at the federal level, so that when we are talking about agribusiness, like diversifying from mono economic to the agricultural-based economy, how much resources are we putting into the factor that determines that gold, mechanization and agric equipment are key components”
“if we are talking about agribusiness and agro-economy and if we are talking about large scale agriculture, we cannot be talking about using cutlass and hoes alone, so if you’re not putting your money where your money is, then you should not expect any magic, for us as a country that is the major area I think we need to focus on now”
“Oyo State Government have strategies in place, we have a plan, we are not doing anything accidentally, what we are doing are deliberate actions that is within our strategy, just a couple of weeks ago the state government commissioned the gas plant project within the state, that means we are having alternative means of energy only that at the early stage that project the gas energy will be supply in clustered industrial hubs”
A senior researcher and an administrator of Pilaf of the University of Ibadan, and participant, Mr Iredele Ogunbayo said the contributions and suggestions at the meeting would be used to help in creating or initiating policies that are going to better the lives of fabricators and our farmers
Iyabo Adebisi
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