STORAGE FACILITY: OGUN PARTNERS FG FOR PREVENTING POST-HARVEST LOSS

  STORAGE FACILITY: OGUN PARTNERS FG FOR PREVENTING POST-HARVEST LOSS

The continued collaborative effort between the Federal and Ogun State Governments on agriculture, will soon bring about maximal utilisation of the 25,000 metric tons capacity storage comprising of 10 Silo facilities and 500 metric tons warehouse, in Ikenne Farm settlement, towards preventing post-harvest loss and linkage of value-chain actors in the sector.

Leading a team on an inspection tour to the facilities being managed by Terra Farms Limited at the settlement in Ikenne Local Government Area of the State, Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Adeola Odedina, said the partnership arrangement would assist young farmers to easily preserve and sell their farm produce profitably.

Odedina hinted that one of the agricultural agenda of the present administration was its quest for effective Public Private Partnership coupled with technical and climate-smart agriculture, noting that the collaboration was in preparation for a bumper harvest being envisaged through various government's interventions, such as the Anchor Borrowers' Programme.

"This is a silo built by the Federal Government of Nigeria and managed by Terra Farms Limited in Ikenne Farm Settlement. It will be a benefit to agricultural and private sector players in Ogun State. Governor Dapo Abiodun has advised us to concentrate on technical and climate-smart agriculture and locate facilities to help our farmers in handling storage. 

“So, we are linking them up to storage facilities and 500 metric tons warehouse, which is also available here. We want them to bring their grains for storage and bag at a fee with their brands", he said.

On his part, the Head, Value Addition of Terra Farm, Mr. Emmanuel Saseun expressed delight on the existing partnership between his company and the State Government, positing that it would go a long way to limit post-harvest losses by farmers and boost agricultural business in the State.

In a related development, Dr. Odedina and his team also inspected an eight hectares cassava demonstration farm under the care of Cassava Revolution Programme, at the settlement.

Dr. Odedina said Governor Abiodun funded the Programme after eight years of neglect to be a model for young farmers and offer technical assistance to them with off-takers and processors, towards food and nutrition security, as well as industrialisation, saying, "we are creating close to 1,000 jobs in the settlement to drive agricultural agenda of the present administration".

In her remark, the Director of the Programme, Mrs. Kehinde Jokotoye said the demonstration farm was fully mechanised to align with the best global practice.

"We planted to show any farmer, especially the youth who wants to venture into cassava cultivation, to follow the model. Whoever wants to go into cassava production should follow this. Here we are expecting minimum of 30 tons per hectare", she stated.

 

Tunwase Dokunmu & Doyinsola Ajisebutu,

Press Officers, Ministry of Agriculture