Post by Trade Coach on Jul 30, 2021 10:29:40 GMT 1
The Lagos State government has empowered about 3,000 agripreneurs with agricultural productive assets and inputs under the 2021 Agricultural Value Chains Enterprise Activation Programme.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the kick off of distribution yesterday, described the intervention as a demonstration of his administration’s commitment to the development, expansion and growth of agriculture in Lagos State.
According to him, providing tools, deploying innovation and creativity would make it easier for farmers to grow high quality crops thereby raising their inputs to feed Lagosians and Nigerians in general.
The Governor urged beneficiaries to nurture their businesses to maturity and build sustainable wealth since the government was putting in place interventions to help them.
He said: “These beneficiaries will be receiving tractors, ploughs, fishing boats and gear; harvesters, threshers, destoning machines, de-feathering machines, medication, herbicides, fish juveniles, pig growers, smoking kilns, eggs, and other implements and inputs.
“These are to be utilised in farming communities across the agricultural zones of Badagry, Epe and Ikorodu.
“The goal is simple – we want to make life easier for our farmers and agriculture workers. We want to make it easier for them to clear their land, grow high-quality crops, raise healthy animals, and process their output.
“When they are able to do this successfully, everyone benefits, from producers to consumers. There are clear benefits in terms of health, productivity, employment, and so on.
“I am pleased to note that the government has put in place a strategy for the proper utilisation and continuous maintenance of these assets, to ensure that we derive maximum value from them.
“We are also working with a financial institution regarding appropriate financing structures for the guaranteed sustainability of the programme.
“I must say that despite our numerous strides and good intentions, government alone cannot bring about the desired development in the agricultural sector.
” I urge the private sector to take advantage of the huge potentials in Lagos State Agricultural sector which currently boasts of an estimated annual transactional value of five trillion naira.”
Commissioner for Agriculture Ms. Abisola Olusanya said 13,976 persons have benefitted since the programme started in 2014. She explained that it was the government’s desire to help committed farmers nurture their business into viable and mature agricultural enterprises through a deliberate monitoring and control mechanism.
According to Olusanya, team accountability has been put in place to ensure the proper utilisation of assets which has resulted in the collaboration with Ecobank for the fisheries value chain, and the MSME Accountant Initiative of the Ministry of Finance for the Lagos Agripreneurship Programme (LAP) and Agricultural Youth Empowerment Scheme (Agric-YES) beneficiaries.
She said: “These strategies are in addition to the window of opportunities that will be created for youth engagement as articulated in the Lagos State Agricultural and Food Systems Roadmap in the next five years.
“In the long run, it is envisaged that these efforts, and many others in the agriculture ecosystem, will enable the state transit from being a food consumer to a major food producer, especially in fisheries, piggery, poultry production and coconut value chains where it has a strong comparative and competitive advantage.”
Source: thenationonlineng.net/lagos-empowers-3000-farmers-with-agricultural-inputs/
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the kick off of distribution yesterday, described the intervention as a demonstration of his administration’s commitment to the development, expansion and growth of agriculture in Lagos State.
According to him, providing tools, deploying innovation and creativity would make it easier for farmers to grow high quality crops thereby raising their inputs to feed Lagosians and Nigerians in general.
The Governor urged beneficiaries to nurture their businesses to maturity and build sustainable wealth since the government was putting in place interventions to help them.
He said: “These beneficiaries will be receiving tractors, ploughs, fishing boats and gear; harvesters, threshers, destoning machines, de-feathering machines, medication, herbicides, fish juveniles, pig growers, smoking kilns, eggs, and other implements and inputs.
“These are to be utilised in farming communities across the agricultural zones of Badagry, Epe and Ikorodu.
“The goal is simple – we want to make life easier for our farmers and agriculture workers. We want to make it easier for them to clear their land, grow high-quality crops, raise healthy animals, and process their output.
“When they are able to do this successfully, everyone benefits, from producers to consumers. There are clear benefits in terms of health, productivity, employment, and so on.
“I am pleased to note that the government has put in place a strategy for the proper utilisation and continuous maintenance of these assets, to ensure that we derive maximum value from them.
“We are also working with a financial institution regarding appropriate financing structures for the guaranteed sustainability of the programme.
“I must say that despite our numerous strides and good intentions, government alone cannot bring about the desired development in the agricultural sector.
” I urge the private sector to take advantage of the huge potentials in Lagos State Agricultural sector which currently boasts of an estimated annual transactional value of five trillion naira.”
Commissioner for Agriculture Ms. Abisola Olusanya said 13,976 persons have benefitted since the programme started in 2014. She explained that it was the government’s desire to help committed farmers nurture their business into viable and mature agricultural enterprises through a deliberate monitoring and control mechanism.
According to Olusanya, team accountability has been put in place to ensure the proper utilisation of assets which has resulted in the collaboration with Ecobank for the fisheries value chain, and the MSME Accountant Initiative of the Ministry of Finance for the Lagos Agripreneurship Programme (LAP) and Agricultural Youth Empowerment Scheme (Agric-YES) beneficiaries.
She said: “These strategies are in addition to the window of opportunities that will be created for youth engagement as articulated in the Lagos State Agricultural and Food Systems Roadmap in the next five years.
“In the long run, it is envisaged that these efforts, and many others in the agriculture ecosystem, will enable the state transit from being a food consumer to a major food producer, especially in fisheries, piggery, poultry production and coconut value chains where it has a strong comparative and competitive advantage.”
Source: thenationonlineng.net/lagos-empowers-3000-farmers-with-agricultural-inputs/
