Southwest in search of food sufficiency

The Southwest region, which was once a toast of other geo-political zones in the area of food production, has lost its vibe over the years.

In the 1950s and 1960s, through the farming activities of rural settlements and farm estates established by the government of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the region had more than enough food to feed its people and also sell to other states due to the government’s interest in farming.

But over the years, the lack of will-power by successive administrations within the region had negatively impacted the sector, forcing price of foodstuff and others beyond the reach of the common man, as the region relies solely on other regions to bridge its food demand gap.

The recent Muslim festival was an attestation to this fact, as staple food items such as beef and vegetables, including tomatoes and onions, which are usually supplied from the North, became scarce, leading to an astronomical rise in the cost of foodstuffs.

The unpalatable experience appears an eye-opener on the deficiencies of a region, which currently depends largely on the North for staple foods, livestock and others, signaling a wake-up call to the governors to take drastic move.

Last week, the Governors from the zone, held a roundtable on food security hosted by the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria Commission in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Present at the meeting were the five Commissioners for Agriculture from Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo states – Ebenezer Boluwade, Bolu Owotomo, Olayato Aribo, Tola Faseru, and Olasunkanmi Olaleye respectively, while the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Emmanuel Audu, who represented the state’s commissioner.

Part of their resolutions was to ensure massive land clearing, enhanced security, and large-scale production of short-term crops such as maize, sweet potatoes and vegetables.

Other plans include, revitalising moribund dams for irrigation, improving mechanisation across the value chain, adopting a cluster farming model, expanding input distribution, and establishing an electronic agriculture database.

The Director General of the commission, Seye Oyeleye, said it is important to dispel unfounded rumours that the region has lost its capacity to produce its food.

He, therefore, urged the commissioners to come up with the recommendations that the state governors can easily implement within the next few months.

Other participants at the meeting were Dr. Theophilus Onadeko, the recently appointed Managing Director of the Southwest Agriculture Company, SWAgCo, a subsidiary of the Odu’a Investment Company Limited and Chief Kola Akosile from NACCIMA.

The Southwest Governors’ Forum had recently met in Lagos, committing to massive industrialisation and agricultural revival in the region.

Ogun State seems to have keyed into the agenda, as the Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has allocated farmlands to 26 members of the state House of Assembly to ensure food security and in support of the agricultural resurgence initiative of the Federal Government.

Abiodun, who presented letters of allocation to the lawmakers to commemorate the first anniversary of the 10th legislature at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, said the gesture was to make them contribute towards making the state the food basket of the country.

He said: “I recall that I had promised to allocate agricultural land to all the Ogun State legislators as part of our food security and agricultural resurgence initiative, which is in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“Today, in fulfillment of the promise and in commemoration of your one year in office. I am glad to present to you the letters of allocation for the speaker and the 25 members of the House of Assembly, and I hope you would take advantage of this opportunity to ensure that you begin to grow what you eat and eat what you grow. This will be your way of ensuring the fulfillment of our desire to make Ogun state the bread basket of the nation.”

The Baale of Agbe in Imeko, Ogun State, Chief Ismail Abolore, who described the Southwest Governors’ move as a right step in the right direction, said the new resolve will ensure the region regains its position as agric hub.