By our Reporter
In a bid to encourage local farming and promote food sufficiency, the Ondo state government has flagged off the 2024 planting season and distribution of inputs to farmers in the state.
John Paul Akinduro, Spokesperson to Ondo State Deputy Governor made this known in a statement.
He said while interacting with farmers at the event, which took place in Akure on Monday, the state governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, said his administration has done a lot to alleviate the challenges confronting farmers in the state by creating a conducive and enabling environment for them to operate.
Represented by his deputy, Olayide Adelami, the governor revealed that his “administration has continued to commit enormous resources to the agricultural agencies to enable them to achieve their core mandates”
He further stated that, “the state government under the Ondo CARES programme has distributed agricultural inputs, ranging from cassava stem, fertilizers, seeds and seedlings, including poultry feed and fingerlings, worth N317,980,200 to farmers
“We have also distributed agricultural inputs and assets, under Ondo CARES programme, to a total of 20,556 farmers, comprising of youths, women and vulnerable people”
In his opening address, the state commissioner for agriculture, Olayato Aribo, said the event is an annual ceremony where the government acquaints farmers with agricultural opportunities and support them with improved varieties of crops, livestock and planting materials, among others.
He thanked the governor for “the approval of funds to raise 80,000 seedlings of exotic and indigenous species for plantation establishment, which were being transplanted to the field this year”.
Aribo said the state government has also distributed various farm inputs, including tricycles, power tillers worth billions of naira to farmers as palliatives. This is in addition to the distribution of 5000 day old chicks, 280 bags of broilers starters, 280 bags of fish feeds of various sizes and 84 bags of NPK fertilizers.
In his remarks, chairman of the Ondo state committee on agriculture and food, Rotimi Akinsola, highlighted the importance of agriculture to the growth of a nation, saying a programme that will deliberately encourage college students to embrace agriculture has been put in place by the government.
The governor distributed farm inputs such as pesticides, seedlings and tools to various farmers associations to support them as they begin the new planting season.