Agriculture: Kwara Ready For Another Bumper Harvest. By Taiwo Adediran

Date: 2018-08-28

The dwindling in the global oil price has prompted government at the federal and state levels to shift their attention back to agriculture which used to contribute greater percentage to Nigeria's GDP prior to discovery of crude oil.

To this end, kwara state government under the leadership of Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed has introduced policies that makes agricultural activities in the state appealing and rewarding for farmers including youths. Thousands of youth are now actively involve in commercial agricultural activities due to conducive environment and support provided by the government.

In 2017, Kwara State Government launched the Off-Takers Demand Driven Agriculture (ODDA) Scheme aimed at entrenching farmers' attitudinal change towards the state's agriculture sector, over the years.

ODDA scheme according to the governor Ahmed has been directly linked with commercial agriculture and formulated to drive employment, boost food production, and diversify the state's economy by matching farmers with Off-Takers.

He further stated that Off-takers Demand Driven Agriculture (ODDA) scheme ODDA is designed to build an agribusiness ecosystem that will reduce food importation, enhance foreign exchange, and more importantly create sustainable livelihoods for our people, especially youths and women.

The state government through the Ministry of Agriculture under the ODDA scheme allocated 2550 hectares of located in farm estates situated in Oke oyi, Baala and other selected villages across the state to over 3000 farmers and also facilitated low interest loan for them. This programme led to tremendous increase in production outputs of farmers while over 1000 young Agricpreneurs emerged from the scheme and the state government has pledged to do more during this farming season.

Apart from that 1,250 local farmers in Kwara state also benefit from the N1 billion loan in the first phase of Kwara/Central Bank of Nigeria 2018 anchor borrowers' programme (ABP). The new initiative by the state government to obtain N1billion loan from the CBN through the ABP platform to drive its initiatives in agriculture was to further empower local farmers in production of rice, maize, soybeans and cassava.

A breakdown of beneficiaries by the state commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Adegoke Bamidele indicated that the programme would involve 500 maize farmers, 350 soybeans farmers, 150 rice farmers and 250 cassava farmers.

Adegoke said: "The programme thrust of the ABP is the provision of farm inputs in kind and cash (for farm labour) to small holder farmers to boost production of these commodities, stabilize inputs supply to agro processors and address the country's negative balance of payments on food." Similarly, Governor Ahmed's administration has commenced process of engaging 10,000 youths through its agricultural empowerment scheme designed to boost agriculture.The Kwara State Government made about 13,000 hectares of farmland available for unemployed youths to engage in commercial agriculture.

The state is actually using the ODDA scheme lure more people in agriculture due to availability of ready markets for their farm produce, thereby eliminating cost of storage and preventing post-harvest losses. The state government does this by getting buyers for the farmers through agricultural produce marketing board.

Besides, kwara state government despite financial challenges in the country continue to assist farmers by making fertilizers and other farm supplements available at subsidized rates. Unsurprisingly, the state Agro Mall in Ilorin has turned to Safe Haven for farmers across the 16 local government areas of the state.

Additionally, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in partnership with the state had constituted a technical team to liaise with some Chinese manufacturers of agricultural machineries on the kinds of equipment that would be suitable for the AADS project.

Therefore, it's apt to say the programmes and policies of incumbent administration in Kwara state are ways of harnessing agrarian nature of the state to boost its economic through consistent bumper agricultural harvest every farming season.

Source

 


Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

March 28     Abdul-Rahoof Bello     Saraki     Jimoh Lambe Abdulkareem     Oya State     Okeose Christian Cementary     AbdulKareem Yusuf Danhawa     Alagbado     Olusin Of Ijara Isin     Wahab Agbaje     Abraysports FC     Simon Sayomi     Adedeji Onimago     BECE     Abdulwasiu Bolaji Adeyi     Saad Belgore     Kamaldeen Ajibade     Saliu Mustapha     Funmilayo Mohammed     Shuaibu Yaman     SGBN     Harafat E. Mukadam     Joseph Alex Offorjama     Baba Isale     National Association Of Nigerian Students     College Of Education     Amuda Aluko     Binta Sulyman     Mubarak Oladosu     Adamu Attah     Femtech     Oloyede     George Innih     Abdullahi G. Mohammad     Ilesha-Baruba-Gwanara     Abioye Bello     Kwara     Muhammad Yahya     Dagbalodo     Abdulganiyu Salahudeen     Taofeek Ibraheem     Gaa Olobi     Simeon Ajibola     Mutawalle     Saadu Gbogbo Iwe     ASMAU PLAZA     QuickWin     Popo-Igbonna     Mary Arinde     Islamic Development Bank     Dar-Al-Handasah Consultants     Opaleke Bukola Iyabo     Kupchi Hosea Maxwell     20 Billion Bond     Haashim Initiative For Community Advancement     Emir Of Kano     Kisra     REO CAKES     Is\'haq Modibbo Kawu     Saeedat Aliyu     Olota Of Odo-Owa     Femi Oladiji     Abubakar Abdulraheem     Temitope Ogunbanke     Emmanuel Bello     Elesie Of Esie     Afolayan     Lola Olabayo     Aliyu Kora-Sabi     Abubakar Baba Sulaiman     Alapansapa     Kwara Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board     Isiaka Abdulrazak     Ibraheem Abdullateef     College Of Health     Mope Dasuki Belgore     Sa\'adu Salau    

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

Babaita     Ibraheem Adeola Katibi     SARS     Hijab     Lateef Fagbemi     Lateef Ademola Olatunji     Musa Aibinu     Ekweremadu     James Ayeni     Bukola Ajikobi     Abdulkadri Ahmad Alaiye     Alfa Yahaya Road     Lasiele Alabi Yahaya     KSIRS     Mohammed Halidu     Shola Odetundun     Yahaya Seriki Gambari     Akanbi-Oke     Abdulmajeed Wahab     Idris Garuba     Ishola Balogun Fulani     Ojuekun     CT Ayeni     KwaraLearn     Oloye     Kola Ologbondiyan     Iponrin     Odolaye Aremu     Moshood Bakare     Abdulraheem Yusuf     Kabir Shagaya     AGF Abdulrazaq     Musa Yeketi     Illyasu Abdullahi     Wahab Egbewole     GANZY     Inside Kwara     Mohammed Khadijat Kubura     Aliyu Olatunji Ajanaku     PAACO-PCL Consortium     Iyabo Adewuyi     Hussein Oloyede     Katibi Ibraheem Adeola     Abubakar Imam     Sobi FM     Raji Ayodele Kamaldeen     Labaeka     Oyin-Zubair     Facebook     Kulende-UITH     Ibrahim Issa Jetti     Joana Nnazua Kolo     Muhammad-Mustapha Suleiman     Raji AbdulRasaq     Maigida     Bayo Mohammed Onimode     Olumide Daniel Ibitoye     John Obuh     Babajide Ajayi     ITEM 7     First Lady     KWASSIP     Ibrahim Abdulkadir Abikan     Alabi Lawal     Majlis For Sadakah, Zakat And Waqf     Kola Adesina     SGBN     Rotimi Samuel Olujide     Micheal Imoudu     Tunji Oyawoye     Kwara State Branch Of The National Library     Manzuma     Galadiman Ngeri     College Of Arabic And Islamic Legal Studies     Adebara     Abubakar Atiku     Bola Shagaya