By Iyabo Adebisi
Oyo State governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde has reiterated his commitment to making the state a modern agribusiness hub in Sub-Saharan Africa, just as he promised to give more support to farmers and improve infrastructure and security with a view to attracting large investments in agriculture to the state.
He stated this in his opening remark at an event themed, “Agribusiness for Food Security Initiative”, held at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, (IITA), Ibadan.
Governor Makinde noted that his government remained resolute in bringing prosperity to the state and would continue to support youths.
The governor said in his Roadmap for Accelerated Development, that he had thought of how to take the people from poverty to prosperity, noting that given the state’s comparative advantage of arable land, it was clear that embracing agriculture was the way to go, but it was also obvious that using the old method of farming would not produce the desired result.
He said, “We are a state that was doing poorly on economic indices. The internally generated revenue was low for a state that has a rich history of economic development and we are close to the nation’s commercial capital. Lagos is not far from here. Every month, they do an IGR of about N65bn and here, when we came in, it was N1.8bn but we have now managed to push it close to N4bn.
So, in terms of where we want to be, we have not scratched the surface yet.
“So, we had to find a way to stimulate the economy quickly. Our comparative advantage is the arable land. If we are to achieve accelerated development, we have to build our economy around this advantage. The 11 local government areas in Ibadan are double the size of the whole of Lagos State. So, it was a no-brainer that we have to leverage agriculture and agribusiness, but we are not content with practicing agriculture like it was done in the past.
“We need an economic solution driven by data. We need an achievable strategy powered in a new way of thinking about agriculture. One of the platforms set up to drive the new way of thinking about agriculture was the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA), headed by Dr Debo Akande.
“So, I will also say that Dr Akande has been instrumental in pushing the new way of practising agriculture in Oyo State and I can tell the whole world that this is yielding dividends. To achieve this, we will focus on partnerships to drive agribusiness, working with the private sector and development organisations.”
Governor Makinde said for Oyo State to become a modern agribusiness hub in Sub-Saharan Africa would require the attraction of large investments in agriculture, adding that to attract the kind of investments needed by the state; it would need to provide adequate infrastructure and security.
He said though the state on his watch had done so well with the provision of infrastructure and security, it would still do more to buoy investors’ confidence.
Talking about the Fasola Industrial Hub, the governor said developing it had provided the state a learning opportunity that would come handy as the state embarks on building Eruwa and Akufo industrial hubs.
The governor lauded the IITA for helping the state with high-quality seeds which are propelling increased productivity in the state.
In a keynote address, a former President of Nigeria, who is also an Honorary Ambassador of IITA, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, said agribusiness would play a vital role in the future of the country.
Chief Obasanjo said that the federal government should not be directly involved in agribusiness since the states have the landmass, resources, manpower, innovations and the infrastructure to develop holistic strategies for food security.
He commended the efforts of women in agribusiness and also encouraged them to do more as food security and food nutrition would go a long way in providing more employment, boost the foreign exchange, and increase in internally generated revenue.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Africa Continental Director CGIAR/ Director General IITA, Dr Simeon Ehui, said the forum was aimed at addressing pressing issues on food security and to drive positive changes by leveraging major stakeholders to ensure a sustainable future for the present and next generation.
Some beneficiaries of Oyo State Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project (YEAP), Ibukunoluwa Tubi and Dolapo Opekun, lauded the initiative which has brought hope to youths. They also thanked Governor Makinde for empowering and supporting youths.
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