AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
Farmers in Iseyin, Kajola and Iwajowa local government council areas of Oyo State were full of excitement as they received cassava stems, rice seedlings, tomatoes seedlings, maize, herbicides and fertilizers recently.
Kolawole Adewumi Bamigbola, who is the State Coordinator, Nigeria Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus, Result Area 2, said that the initiative was in line with Governor Seyi Makinde’s resolve to address plights of farmers in the state.
Bamigbola, while addressing journalists in Iseyin Local Government Council Area, explained that farmers who were affected by Covid-19 pandemic were supported through the OYO-Cares scheme funded by the World Bank in partnership with the Oyo State Agribusiness Agency.
According to him, a total of 260 farmers benefitted from the exercise. Kolawole said, “Of the 80 beneficiaries of the agricultural inputs in Iseyin Local Government Council Area, 30 are rice farmers while 50 are tomatoes farmers. Each of the rice farmers received 10kg of rice seeds, 2 emergence herbicides and 1 liter of post-emergence herbicide.”
In Kajola Local Government Council Area, a total of 80 beneficiaries, comprising of 70 cassava farmers and 10 rice farmers were supported.
Each of the 70 cassava farmers in Okeho received 20 bundles of cassava cuttings, 2 bags of NPK fertilizer and 1 liter of herbicide, while each of the rice farmers received 10kg of rice seedlings, 1 litre of pre-emergence and 1 liter of post-emergence herbicides with 2 bags of NPK fertilizer.
In Iwajowa Local Government Council Area, 100 farmers, comprises 30 maize farmers and 70 cassava farmers, received varying agricultural inputs such as maize seeds, NPK fertilizer, pre-emergence herbicides, post emergence herbicides and cassava cuttings.
Alhaja Mutiat Adediran, a tomatoes farmers from Oju Baba area, Iseyin in Iseyin Local Government Council Area, said, “Governor Makinde is a very kind person. He gave me Mecca slot before he became the governor of the state. Now that God has made him the governor, he is trying all his possible best to fulfill his promises to we farmers in the state.
“Today, I received tomatoes seeds, fertilizers and herbicides. I will make good use of them; these are going to boost my farm output. We shall continue to pray for Governor Makinde to have a successful tenure in office, we really appreciate him.”
Mallam Bello Muhammed, a rice farmer from Kajola Local Government Council Area of the state who doubles as the Chairman, Hausa community in the area, said, “I did not pay anything for all these that I collected here today. I received 10kg of rice seeds, herbicide and fertilizers. All these items are close to N100,000 in the market today and for me, receiving it free of charge is something that I really appreciate. May God continue to bless our governor. I promise to make good use of the items to boost food production in my local government.”
In separate interviews, the Chairman, Iseyin Local Government Council Area, represented by Mr. Oyebisi Abraham Oyedokun, the Director of Agriculture in the Council, and the acting Chairman of Kajola Local Government Council Area, Gideon Oyediran Bolanle, commended Governor Makinde for supporting the farmers in their areas and urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the items given for increased food production in the state.
