By Abdullahi Lukman
Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has announced a support package for 10,000 rice and cassava farmers, including subsidised fertilisers, herbicides, improved planting materials, mechanised farming equipment and 1,200 Android phones to boost agricultural productivity and strengthen food security.
The interventions were unveiled on Friday during the 2026 World Food Day celebration at the June 12 Cultural Centre in Abeokuta, themed “Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow.”
Under the programme, 2,000 rice farmers and 8,000 cassava farmers will receive two bags of fertiliser and one bag of urea each.
The cassava farmers will also receive 25 bundles of cassava stems each, while rice farmers will get three litres of herbicides and cassava farmers 10 litres each.
The state government will distribute 10 tractors and other agricultural equipment to support farm settlements and farmers’ associations.
The 1,200 Android phones will provide access to weather forecasts, market prices and information on improved farming practices to help beneficiaries make informed production and marketing decisions.
Abiodun said the initiative formed part of his administration’s efforts to transform agriculture into a technology-driven and profitable sector capable of creating jobs, attracting investment and contributing to national food security.
He disclosed that the government had completed 28 agricultural projects in the past two years, covering crop production, aquaculture, poultry, processing, storage and mechanisation.
Among the projects are solar dryers, warehouses, cassava processing centres and a poultry processing plant at Ajegunle Farm Settlement in Odeda Local Government Area, which has the capacity to process 5,000 birds daily, or approximately 1.3 million annually.
The governor added that the state had procured 39 tractors, four self-propelled harvesters and other equipment to reduce the burden of manual farming and improve production efficiency.
He also highlighted youth empowerment initiatives, disclosing that more than 200 young people had received training in soilless farming through a partnership with Soilless Farm Lab, alongside start-up support to establish agricultural businesses.
According to him, the administration established the Ogun State Agricultural Land Management Agency (OSALMA) to facilitate access to land and promote responsible agricultural investments.
Abiodun urged investors to explore opportunities in commercial farming, agro-processing, livestock production, aquaculture, irrigation, mechanisation, storage and cold-chain infrastructure, assuring them of the state’s support for viable agricultural ventures.
He further disclosed that the Ogun State Farmer Information Management System, launched in April 2023, had registered more than 160,000 farmers and agricultural value-chain operators.
The platform is designed to improve the targeting of government interventions and support evidence-based agricultural policymaking.
The governor said agribusiness firms had purchased more than 283,000 tonnes of agricultural produce under the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP), while farmer clusters had received capacity-building support and connections to produce off-takers.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Bolu Owotomo, said innovation, improved access to finance, land, technology and training were essential to developing a resilient food system.
Owotomo disclosed that more than 12,000 farmers had benefited from training and agricultural inputs under OGSTEP. He explained that the latest input-support programme was being implemented in partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), with beneficiaries contributing 30 per cent of the cost in applicable categories and the government covering the remaining 70 per cent.
In his keynote address, Professor Kolawole Adebayo, a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, said Ogun State’s estimated 1.2 million hectares of arable land and proximity to major consumer markets offered significant opportunities for agro-industrial development.
He called for an integrated transport network linking road, rail, water and air routes to improve the movement of agricultural produce, preserve quality and reduce post-harvest losses.
Other speakers, including representatives of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones Programme and the Commodity Farmers Association of Nigeria, commended the state government’s agricultural interventions and urged beneficiaries to use the distributed inputs and equipment effectively.
The celebration ended with the symbolic presentation of tractors, agricultural equipment, Android phones, fertilisers, herbicides and other farming inputs to beneficiaries.
