Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, will on Monday flag off the 2020 wet season rice harvesting in Ogun State among youth farmers.
The state supported Eredo Youth Farmers Association at Sowunmi Village, Mokoloki, Obafemi Owode local government area of the state will be used is the focus under the Ogun State IFAD/ Value Chain Development programme.
The flagging off is said to be in line with the administration’s commitment to agriculture food sufficiency, job creation and industrialisation in Ogun State.
It would be recalled that Abiodun had at different fora stressed the need for Nigeria to be self reliant in food production.
Speaking at during the flag-off of the 2020 planting season and distribution of inputs to the first batch of cassava value chain beneficiaries under the anchor borrowers programme at the Farmers Market, Asero, Abeokuta, Ogun State, recently, the governor stressed that the focus on agriculture would provide adequate food for the nation.
In addition, he said, adequate food production would promote national security.
He said the importance of self-reliance in the area of food production had been made apparent by the COVID-19 experience whereby borders of countries were shut.
His words: “The fact that almost all the nations of the world have closed their borders has brought to fore the importance of the ‘grow what we eat’ agenda. We see the importance of self-reliance in food productivity.
“I am sure we are all now aware of the importance of and relationship between not only food production and security, but also the overall security of the nation in general and our dear state in particular.”
