OSOPADEC to partner Agbeladun on food sufficiency
The Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC), has expressed its readiness to partner with Agbeladun Empowerments NGO for agricultural development in its mandate areas towards food sufficiency.
The Secretary of the Commission, Princess Abike Bayo-Ilawole, made this known at a Tomato, Pepper, and Onion training programme held at Ilaje Civic Center in Igbokoda, Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The training, organized by Agbeladun Empowerment NGO, drew participants from the local government areas within the Southern Senatorial District of the State.
Bayo-Ilawole, represented by the commission’s Director of Youths, Women Development and Poverty Alleviation, Mr Wale Mafolabomi, described the training as an eye-opener for the people, showing that they can equally engage in crop production to generate income and provide food for themselves and the state.
She said, “We have enough land for arable crops to plant, but our people’s minds have not been drawn to it.”
Emphasizing that crop production is lucrative in the area, Bayo-Ilawole noted that the area is suitable for early production, particularly for crops like tomatoes, peppers, and onions, during the dry season.
She appreciated the organizers for bringing the training to their mandate area, assuring that the commission would partner with them considering the economic gains and benefits to be derived from the training.
In a welcome speech, the Coordinator of Agbeladun, Mr. Franklin Olusola Fadoju, said the training was an extension of the one done in the Central Senatorial District to ensure that everybody benefits from the training, which will be concluded next weekend with training for Northern senatorial district farmers of the state at Ikare.
He reaffirmed that his organization aims to complement the efforts of the state government in agriculture, as well as other farmers’ bodies like OSACA and Farmers Congress, because the governor cannot do it alone.
“It also aims at reducing the current hardship on the people and ensuring food security and sufficiency,” he stated.
In a separate interview with the resource persons, they encouraged the people to return to farming to feed themselves and the country at large, and to create a zero hunger nation for sustainable development.
Pepper resource person, Mr. Abdulquadri Habeeb, called on participants to implement the training because they could make money from the ventures.
Also, the tomato resource person, Mr. Taiwo Ilawole, urged the people to adopt a mindset that nothing is impossible in agriculture, emphasizing that Ondo State has fertile land suitable for growing agricultural crops.
He suggested that those without farms could cultivate in bags filled with sand to plant whatever they desired.
The training featured free distribution of tomato seedlings to participants at the end of the training.
