The Ondo State Government is set to establish a new agricultural company aimed at achieving food security and generating employment, particularly for the youth.
Mr. Wemimo Akinsola, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Agriculture and Agribusiness, revealed this during a media chat in Akure on Wednesday.
He emphasized that the initiative is part of the state’s broader plan to shift from being mere primary producers to becoming processors of agricultural produce.
“We need to follow up on food production and make sure that our people can actually benefit. It is from production that you make employment.
“So we are proposing to have a Sunshine agro-company; the company will be run by people that have notable companies and good investors here; they will build the infrastructure here.
”For us to be able to invest into agriculture, we need to build a proper infrastructure for agriculture; we are looking at the tractor zones in the three central districts,’’ he said.
Akinsola also highlighted ongoing efforts to secure farmland across the state.
According to him, security personnel have been deployed to reclaim forested lands from encroachers, ensuring a safe environment for farmers and agribusiness investors.
“Security personnel are in our forests right now, securing the place for us to be able to take the land back from encroachers.
“So we’re getting investors who have the capacity to move in there and start to clear large areas of land; that will enable other farmers to move in and do work.
“We are improving our electricity; since the governor came, electricity has been working in the southern senatorial district; we are bringing a project to the south and it’s employing 6,000 to 7,000 people.
He added that approximately 12,000 hectares of land have been earmarked in the southern senatorial district for ethanol production, a venture expected to employ between 6,000 and 7,000 people. “
The governor’s aide further praised the administration for its strides in improving rural electricity, especially in the south, which he said would support agro-processing and related industries.
“We’re not just farming anymore; we’re building a full agro-economy, from production to processing to marketing,” Akinsola concluded.
