Agriculture

Oyo Government Empowers YEAP Cassava Farming Project Pioneer Set

By Web News 540

By Iyabo Adebisi

Oyo State government has presented cheques to members of the Oyo State Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project, YEAP, who are pioneer set of cassava farming project at Fasola Farms.

The beneficiaries who are sixteen in number received the cheques of over one million naira to boost their farming businesses.

Presenting the cheques to the beneficiaries at the OYSADA headquarters, the Director General of Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA), Dr. Debo Akande stressed the need for youths to be more active in agribusiness.

Dr Akande who was represented at the OYSADA Headquarters by former Permanent Secretary of the agency, Mr Kola Kazeem said that the project is one of the vision of Governor Seyi Makinde’s efforts to encourage youths in agribusiness.

He said; “We need to appreciate the state Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde because this is one of his vision and that is what led to the establishment of the YEAP in Oyo state, it’s the realization of that vision that gave birth to OYSADA led by Dr. Debo Akande.”

“The journey has been good since year 2021 that the YEAP was launched, and since then our youths have been empowered, they all went for training at Nasarawa state and they came back and the governor deemed it fit that these young ones should be encouraged to be part of the state agribusiness and that is why some of them were selected for cassava farming project at Fashola agribusiness hub to pilot this cassava farming project, it was the result of that efforts that we’re celebrating today.”

“Having put in that much effort, the governor deemed it fit to give this sum of money to them as a seed for them to continue to be on agribusiness. We invested in about 45 hectares of land, and only about 18 have been harvested so the remaining is there, and the agreement we had with them is to pay for their efforts, we are here today to give them the 50% of the proceeds from the individual farms, so from the harvested farms so far, we realized two million, six hundred and four thousand naira and we’re giving out one million three hundred and two thousand naira.”

“The farm is still there, we’re still waiting for other YEAP members to come around and harvest their farms so they can come for their proceeds as well.” He said.

Some of the beneficiaries that spoke with journalists, Mr Kayode Alabi from Oyo West, Timilehin Christiana Ogundijo, and Raheem Wahab lauded Governor Makinde and OYSADA’S Director General, Dr. Debo Akande for the support both in kind and cash.

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Agriculture

Oyo Govt. Distributes Biometric Cards to YEAP Members

By Web News 664

By Iyabo Adebisi

Oyo State Government through the State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA) has commenced the distribution of the Biometric cards for members of the Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project (YEAP) across all the 33 local government areas in the state.

The distribution of the biometric cards which began in Iseyin Local Government is being piloted by OYSADA via digitalizing agriculture through the development of the database of farmers including YEAP members across the state.

According to the Director General of the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA), Dr. Debo Akande, the Biometric cards in agribusiness is to remove the fraudulent activity that has been prevalent in the  agricultural sector for many years 

Dr Akande explained that the development was part of the state’s residence biometric system and could be further used to access state benefits require in modern agriculture such as health schemes, and agric finance among others.

Similarly, over a hundred farmers received farm assets, lay birds, sheep, rams, cassava greater pressing machines, and mechanical weeder machines in Iseyin, Kajola, Saki East, and Atisbo local government areas of the state to boost farming.

Some of the beneficiaries lauded the state government for the support.

Reacting,  after the distribution of the farm assets, the state project coordinator of Oyo State CARES for result Area 2, Mr. Bamigbola Adewunmi said the gesture was geared towards food security and supporting the genuine smallholder farmers across the state who were affected by the covid-19 pandemic.

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Agriculture

Oyo Govt. Boosts Food Production with Farm Assets Materials

By Web News 743

By Iyabo Adebisi

Beneficiaries of farm assets materials from the Oyo State government have lauded the Governor Seyi Makinde-led government for assisting them with needed materials that will enhance their food production.

The smallholder farmers in Ogo Oluwa and Afijio Local Government Areas of Oyo State, comprising genuine local farmers and the Nasarawa-trained Youth in Agribusiness Programme, YEAP gave the commendation while receiving farm assets materials from the state government.

Some of the beneficiaries who spoke with journalists in their separate remarks could not hide their feelings as they all commended the state government over the intervention project.

In Afijio Local Government Secretariat at Jobele, no fewer than ten poultry farmers went home with ten bags of feed for their birds, while 20 went home to their various homes with knapsack sprayers and farm protection kits.

Also, the Director of Agric of the local government in Ogo-Oluwa, Prince Bello Ajibola after the distribution of pumping machines, knapsack sprayers, and farm kits at Ogo Oluwa Local Government Secretariat, Ajawa, Ogbomoso, thanked Governor Makinde for the intervention.

Prince Ajibola said the beneficiaries should see the development as an avenue to do more for their immediate communities by providing more food for society.

The Oyo State Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus, (Oyo N-CARES) Project under Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA) in the last few weeks have commenced the distribution of farm assets to farmers that were negatively affected by Covid-19 to mitigate the effect of the pandemic.

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Agriculture

Oyo Distributes Farm Assets, Livestock to Farmers, YEAP Trainees

By Web News 566

By Iyabo Adebisi

Oyo State Government through the state’s Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA) and its Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus, (N-CARES) project has again commenced distribution of farm assets and livestock for farmers and YEAP trainees across all the 33 local government areas in the state.

The State Government in its efforts to protect the livelihoods and food security of poor and vulnerable farmers disproportionately affected by the covid-19 pandemic set up the state N-CARES project with the aim to facilitate the recovery of local economic activity for the affected farmers in the state.

Speaking with journalists during the distribution of farm assets at Ibarapa North, Ayete, the state coordinator for Oyo State N-Care Result Area 2, Mr. Bamigbola  Adewumi stated that the project was to boost food security in the state, through input and assets  distributions for the real local farmers

He said 140 farmers which included local and small-scale farmers and the Youth Entrepreneurship In Agribusiness Project (YEAP) are benefiting from the gesture. 

Mr. Bamigbola explained that the farm assets and others including cassava grater and presser machines worth millions was geared to meet the needs of the beneficiaries.

He also explained a group of ten youths farmers who are into maize farming  sponsored  to Nasarawa by the State Government for training would be given a maize thresher machine for processing to assist them in the ease of doing business while another set of Nasarawa trainees went home with sprayer and safety kits, 

The beneficiaries of the project, Mr. Salako Kazeem Babatunde, a livestock farmer at Ibarapa North Local Government Area Ayete, Mr. Odeyemi Mayowa Odeniyi from Ibarapa Central, Mrs. Okegbenro Suliaht Odunayo from Ibarapa Central, Igboora all lauded Governor Seyi Makinde over the state N-CARES project.

They all promised to make good use of the items given to them to the benefit of themselves, their immediate communities and the state at large.

Mr. Olayiwola Lanre, the Facilitator of the state N-Care Project, Result Area 2, Ibarapa North Local Government, Ayete, said, the programme was solely is to militate the adverse effect of covid-19. 

Mr Olayiwols lauded OYSADA for visiting all the local government areas in the state for identification purposes and this really make it easier for us to identify the real farmers.

Some other areas covered by the state N-CARES at the ongoing distributions of farm items are Oluyole LGA, Aba Ege, while assets distributed to the beneficiaries are 20 knapsack sprayers, 10 PPE, 2 cassava presser and grater machines, and Ibadan North East, the group that benefitted from the project are Agbesayedotun, and they went home with 800 poultry birds, 10 poultry cages, 60 female goats, 20 female goats, 20 male sheep’s; Lagelu LGA, the beneficiary group who is Agbegbemi, went home with 40 knapsack sprayers, 20 PPE, among others

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Agriculture

Oyo YEAP Graduates 300, To Train 3,300 More Youths

By Web News 1266

Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde has said the state would expand its Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project, YEAP, to enable the training of 10,000 youths by the CSS Integrated Farms Limited, Gora, Nasarawa State.

Governor Makinde made this known while speaking at the graduation ceremony of the first batch of 300 trainees held at the International Skills Acquisition Centre (ISAC), Gora.

He noted that his administration has embarked on the training in order to lift youths from poverty into prosperity, stating that the government is determined to empower Oyo State youths to empower others.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, quotes the governor as saying that the state was going to empower only 1,000 youths through the scheme, but that it increased the number to 3,300 at 100 per local government. 

He noted, however, that following the richness of the programme and its capacity to turn the economy of Oyo State into a multi-billion naira economy through agribusiness graduates, government would now go ahead to train 10,000 youths in agribusiness.

The first batch of trainees were trained by about 15 lecturers/professors across the fields of leadership in agribusiness, irrigation farming, Information/Communication Technology application in agribusiness, fishery farming and management, hydroponics farming, cassava and rice value chain and poultry farming, among others.

The governor was given an award of recognition by the chairman, CSS Integrated Farms, Professor John Kennedy Opara, who commended the governor for being very passionate about his people.

Earlier, the YEAP Coordinator and Director-General of the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA), Dr. Debo Akande, said the training is a great opportunity for youths to make a difference.

Dr. Akande added that the training is a starting point for the trainees, noting that everything required for the enterprises has been provided by the governor.

Also speaking, two of the trainees, Edward Oluwasogo Ojekunle and Ogundiran Omosalewa, commended Governor Makinde for the opportunity provided to the youths, promising to return to the state to make immediate impact.

Iyabo Adebisi