Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, has said his administration is returning the state to the farm settlement era witnessed in the old Western Region under the leadership of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo to boost agriculture and food security.
The Governor who utilized the Independence anniversary public holiday to undertake a visit to young farmers in three cluster areas in the state, on Tuesday disclosed this during his visit to the Ikere Farm settlement. He also said construction work on ultramodern dormitories at the farm settlements would commence within the next three weeks.
About 930 youths are involved in the youth agriculture scheme known as “ Bring Back Youth into Agriculture”, being carried out by the state government in collaboration with a private entity, YSJ Farms. Under the scheme, the Government provides land to young farmers and assists them with land clearing and seedlings as well as agricultural extension services, among others. It also has an arrangement to buy its products for storage purposes.
The Governor said he was determined to invest hugely in agriculture, as a form of empowerment for the youths, to ensure food security and to drive industrialization. He stressed that revamping the old farm settlement strategy of the late Chief Awolowo was the only way to ensure the young farmers stayed on the farms and maximised the government’s support for the scheme.
Governor Oyebanji also made stopovers at some farms and took time to personally interact with farmers and ask about their needs, which drew the attention of the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Ebenezer Boluwade, for prompt action.
The proposed dormitories for the young farmers, according to him, would have facilities like sitting rooms, kitchens, security posts, and sick bays, among others, in his administration’s bid to attract more young farmers into agribusiness and turn the state into a huge agriculture hub.
The three clusters visited by the Governor and some officials included those in Eporo-Emure, Ikere and Aramoko-Erio, where he monitored the young farmers who are participating in one of the agricultural initiatives of his administration, “Bring Back the Youth in Agriculture.
Oyebanji also assured of the readiness of his administration to expedite action on other requests of the young farmers which include motorable roads, security at the locations and provision of vehicles and motorcycles to aid mobility of the participants.
The Governor had to defy the challenge of muddy and swampy terrain posed by the road which led to the Aramoko-Erio cluster by hopping on a motorcycle in his determined bid to reach the young farmers who were excited by his gesture of getting to the place to pay them a morale-boosting visit.
Oyebanji who had earlier paid visits to Oke Ako, Iyemero and Igede Farm Settlements over the weekend, said it was unacceptable for the people of the State to be complaining of hunger and be queuing up for palliative materials when the State is blessed with arable land, stressing that a paradigm shift has just begun with his administration’s investment in agriculture.
He described agriculture as a lucrative business, noting that farmers are among the richest set of people in developed economies, pointing out that the participating youths, in particular, and the state, in general, would reap bountiful harvests in agribusiness in the long run.
The Governor assured the youths of security in all the clusters visited, adding that a massive security cordon has been woven around the locations, which he said would be consolidated to eliminate all forms of criminality in the area.
He commended the Chief Executive Officer of YSJ Farms, Mrs Yemisi Joluwe, for partnering with his administration to take agriculture to a higher pedestal.
Oyebanji explained that with the massive clearing of land for agricultural purposes carried out by his administration, the stage had been set for the resuscitation of farm settlements established under the leadership of Awolowo to ensure mass production of food for location consumption, export and provision of job opportunities for the teeming youths.
“The land we are returning to now was last cleared by Chief Awolowo during his time as Premier in Western Region.
“This is the beginning of greater things that will happen in Ekiti State. Western Region was renowned for agriculture under Chief Awolowo, and he developed the Western Region without oil money. We had a food surplus in those days. With what we are doing with our youths now, we are returning to the era of Awolowo’s farm settlements.
“In Ekiti State, only six local government chairmen have keyed into this initiative. I want to ask other local government chairmen who have not keyed into this project to do so. Within the next three weeks, construction of the dormitories will start. We now have more youths showing interest in the scheme, they will have that opportunity to join in the next stage once we get more land”, the Governor added.
The Ogoga of Ikere Ekiti, Oba Adejimi Adu Alagbado, who lauded the Governor’s vision to invest in agriculture pledged the support of his kingdom for the project and charged the youths of the town who are participants in the scheme to work hard and justify their inclusion.
In all the three locations visited by the Governor, the participants, including Margaret Basorun, Olu Okeya, Kolawole Ganiyu and Folasade Filani, hailed the state government and YSJ for giving them a platform for self-development and to contribute to the state economy.
