By Moses Adeniyi
The Lagos State Government (LASG) has reiterated its resolve to attract the attention of Youth engagement in Agriculture, as it calls on investors to turn to taking full advantage of measures by the Government to improve rice production for food sufficiency in the State.
Efforts by the State Government, has recently been concentrated more on attracting increasing number of youths to support the ageing population which has dominated the agricultural value chain.
On Thursday, the State Government through the Lagos State Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) Project charged farmers and investors to invest in agriculture, especially mass production of Ofada Rice to improve productivity for food security particularly in the State and Nigeria generally.
The State Project Coordinator of APPEALS, Mrs. Oluranti Sagoe-Oviebo, during a Field Day for Rice Seed Outgrower Scheme to farmers supported by APPEALS Project in Epe and Lekki areas of Lagos, sponsored by the Lagos State Government in conjunction with the Federal Government and World Bank, said the APPEALS Project is supporting and building farmers’ productivity in rice value chain with technology for food security.
According to her, since inception, Lagos APPEALS Project has supported 20 clusters of Ofada rice farmers with modern technology and necessary supports to improve farming, noting that a cluster comprise about five to 10 groups of 10 individual farmers.
Sagoe-Oviebo, who was accompanied by top officials of Lagos APPEALS Project, African rice and farmers, during a visit to beneficiaries of the Project Rice Seed Outgrower Scheme at Origanringan, Epe and Okegelu in Lekki areas of the State, said the Project has supported rice farmers with modern technology to increase mass production of pure strain of Ofada rice for consumption in Nigeria and export to foreign countries.
She added that Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has keen interest in agriculture and that was why the State Government is fully supporting APPEALS Project to empower farmers, especially youths and women with necessary technology for productivity, improved livelihood and food security.
“Lagos APPEALS Project wants to increase the productivity of rice farmers in Lagos State. We want to ensure that Ofada Rice gets to foreign countries.
“Our rice is better than foreign rice. It is more nutritious than the imported rice. So, I want to implore farmers to invest more in farming activities, especially in the rice value chain.
“We are using this opportunity to call on investors and entrepreneurs to invest in agriculture for food security. If there is no food, there is no guarantee that there would be security in the State or in any country. So, it is high time investors came on board and invest in agriculture. The gap of food demand cannot be overemphasised,” she said.
Speaking during the visits to their farms, representatives of different clusters of rice farmers expressed gratitude to Governor Sanwo-Olu’s administration and Lagos APPEALS Project for having the interest of farmers at heart by investing and empowering them with quality Ofada rice strain as well as providing necessary supports and technology to improve their productivity.
It was gathered that with the State Government’s assistance through the Lagos APPEALS Project, productivity of the farmers have improved from about 1.5 tonnes to three tonnes per hectare based on rice seeds given to them by the Project.
To sensitise youths on the need to take advantage of the investment of the State Government in boosting agriculture sector in the State, the State’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Ruth Olusanya, in her lecture entitled: “The Role of Youths in Redefining Agriculture” to mark the Y2021 International Youth Day,” had advised youths not to reduce agriculture to a traditional vocation suitable only for the aged and illiterate, but as a lucrative business that could make them employers rather than seeking for white collar jobs.
She had said that apart from the fact that food is an absolute necessity of mankind produced by agriculture, the sector is a global money spinning machine with abundant opportunities and has more guarantee of financial success for the youths than gambling, betting or travelling abroad in search of greener pasture.
At the event, the State’s Commissioner for Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Mr. Olusegun Dawodu, had stated that in order to encourage youth participation in the Agric Food Sector, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, among other things, has granted the youths access to land, financial services, green jobs, agribusiness market and participation in policy dialogue.
On his part, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Dr Olugbenga Ayoola Aina, had said that as a developing Nigeria needed to put in place a system that would engender food production on a sustainable basis by inclusion of the innovation and productiveness of the youths.