The Kwara State Government is ready to collaborate with Africa Agriculture Technology Foundation (AA TF) to achieve food sufficiency and reduce unemployment in the state.

The Special Adviser on Agriculture and Rural Water Support Services, Honourable Anu Ibiwoye made the remarks while flagging off the Cassava Mechanization and Agro processing project (CAMAP) for 2016 in Malete, Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State.

Ibiwoye stressed that CAMAP is an initiative of African Agricultural Technology Foundation which seeks to sponsor and promote the cultivation of cassava and also to empower farmers that engage in cassava farming, adding that the objectives of the project is to provide input(such as seedling- stem) and finance to a 100 identified farmers on one hundred hectares of land (every year); solely for the production of cassava.

He noted that the programme runs with the support and supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources (MANR) through the appropriate platform of the ministry.

Ibiwoye while advising the farmers to take the programme as an opportunity, noted that it will create employment and empowerment for participating farmers, and warned that farmers who failed to comply with the terms of the programme would be replaced subsequently.

He urged 'the farmers to show the desired level of seriousness and appreciate the effort of the organizers by justifying the confidence reposed in them as farmers and encourage other farmers coming on board.

He appreciates the initiators and the sponsors of the project, stating that AA TF has done the programme for the period of three years consecutively their efforts were being felt across board. According to him, this keyed into the state government’s Empowerment Programme especially in providing an exit strategy for graduates of Malete youth farm who are yet to be empowered by the state, although some of them have been integrated into the ongoing Off Taker Demand Driven Agriculture of the State.

Earlier, the Deputy Director Agric and Engineering services, Engineer Toyin Zubair stated that statistics had shown that much effort is being put into cassava farming, but little was realized at the end of cultivation adding that the new initiative will thus increase productivity and profitability of the participating farmers who will in turn transfer the approach to other farmers.

The Kwara Agro Mall (KWAMALL) coordinator, Mr. Tope Amujo was also present at the flag off of CAMAP to demonstrate the Famer’s Biometric Registration. He explained the benefits accruing to those farmers who have been registered on the Kwara Agro NETWORK platform. In view of this all the participating farmers present at the gathering were captured with biometric registration facilities.