ABEOKUTA–Ogun State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Adeola Odedina said, the State plans to expand the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) with the introduction of cotton, oil-palm and cocoa in 2021, just as 10,000 hectares of land has been allocated for the use of cotton farmers in the state.
Odedina added that the state government approved new framework for land use in the state stating that access to land would become a seamless process in 2021.
He also noted that the state government would be stepping up its game in the New Year with its engagement with the World Bank, International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the African Development Bank. It’s the bid to make the State the official special agro-processing zone.
“We also want to move into Anchor Borrowers Programme for Cotton, Oil palm and Cocoa in 2021 and government already allocated 10,000 hectares of land to Cotton farmers and we have also started work to link Cocoa, Oil-Palm farmers in 2021.
“We are going to step the game in 2021 with our engagement with the World Bank, IITA and particularly the African Development Bank in the bid to make Ogun State the official special agro-processing zone
The commissioner who further disclosed that the state would be concentrating on dam irrigation, said that the state would also be focusing on Climate Smart Agriculture, which would help to create more employment opportunities for the people.
“In the area of Investment in Agriculture, the Government already approved new framework for land use that will make land access a smooth process in 2021, because we have to expand agriculture, we cannot lock down agriculture, in 2021, we are going to be concentrating into abandoned agriculture activities of dam irrigation and service to take in more people across the state.
“We are also going to be focusing on Climate Smart Agriculture because in other parts of the country they are talking about flood, but in our state, we are only being confronted with drought, that means, we are taking particular attention to irrigation facility in 2021, when this is being done, more people will be employed,” he said.
