Food security: LASG acquires 634.6 hectares of farmlands outside Lagos


The Lagos State Government (LASG) on Tuesday said it had acquired and started cultivation on a total of 634.6 hectares of farmland in the three states of Ogun, Osun and Abuja.

Mr Sanni Okanlawon, the Special Adviser on Food Security to Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode made the remarks at the state’s Ministerial Press Briefing in Lagos.

Okanlawon said that the lands were acquired for the major purpose of producing and bringing food to Lagos State for consumption.

“The state government is making sure that what Lagosians consume is fresh, wholesome and healthy, that is why it has taken steps to ensure that the source of meals consumed here are known.

“Currently, 500 hectares have been acquired in the Yewa Local Government of Ogun State for rice production. Already, 128 hectares have been cultivated and the rest is available for rice investors to show interest in.

“Also, 84.6 hectares in Okini Osogbo, Osun State for the production of palm oil and cassava and whatever is produced comes back to the state for consumption.

“Another 50 hectares in Kuje, Abuja is for cattle rearing and ratting. All these are put in place to ensure reduction of diseases in the state,’’ he said.

The special adviser also said that the recommendations from the Food Security Summit held in November 2016 were being worked on and the outcome would be evident soon.

According to him, the agribusiness department in the ministry would be established before the next press briefing would be held in 2018.

“Also, the Commodity Exchange Market recommended is being processed and all the modalities are being worked on, like paying a certain amount to the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“Building of both wet and dry silos at the Imota Agro Park is currently being worked on, also, registration with the stock exchange and partnering with other commodity exchange markets.

“All these we are pursuing religiously to ensure that the state scores another first in the area of commodity exchange,’’ Okanlawon said.


On the commercialisation of Lake Rice, Okanlawon said that distributors were being engaged for the commodity to be available at the open market.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tomato disease outbreak: Institute appeals for research funding

The National Horticultural Research Institute, Ibadan, has appealed for funding to carry out research and create awareness on the tuta absoluta pest on tomatoes. The Institute’s Head of Vegetable Programme, Dr Olagorite Adetula, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Friday that there was an urgent need to tackle the problem to save the economy. Adetula said the institute needed money to do surveillance survey of the pest/damage, ascertain the impact of the damage and proffer solution for eradicating the pest. She appealed to the Federal Government to help the institute get pheromones to lure and trap the pests and distribute to farmers. ``Spraying insecticides is not the best, the pest has high production rate, some of them can escape while spraying it and they will be resistant to the insecticide thereby causing us more cost. ``The pheromones can be used for six to eight weeks before changing it, it is very effective, the pest has short life cycle, wit...
Read more

10,000 women farmers to be engaged in ECOWAS rice project – official

Image
 Mr Richard Olafare, the President, Seed Entrepreneurs Association of Nigeria (SEEDAN) says 10,000 women will be engaged in the recently inaugurated Rice Seed Up-Scaling Project. This is contained in a presentation on the project made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday. Olafare said 8,000 youths would also be engaged in the scaling project. According to him, the number of women and youths represented 50 per cent and 40 per cent respectively of the 20,000 farmers that will participate in the project. NAN reports that the project is an initiative of the West Africa Seed Programme (WASP) in support of the ECOWAS Rice Offensive Programme that was inaugurated in 2014. Among other objectives, it is targeting the production of 60,000 metric tonnes of paddy rice for Nigeria by December 2017, using 1,200 certified seeds. The project is being implemented by SEEDAN in collaboration with the West and Central Africa Council for Agricultura...
Read more

Monsanto Nigeria Launches 3 Conventional Maize Hybrids

Maize farmers across Nigeria now have 3 high yielding conventional maize hybrids to choose from the DEKALB ® brand as Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Limited launches 3 conventional maize hybrids. The launch held in Abuja on Tuesday May 17 2016 had in attendance farmers, development partners, government regulatory bodies and other stakeholders from both the private and public sectors of the economy. The launch of these hybrid seeds follows their registration by the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds and Fisheries in February 2016. The white maize hybrid, DK234 alongside the 2 yellow maize hybrids, DK920 and DK818 obtained registration approval for use in Nigeria after testing across various agro ecological zones on multi-location farms. The white maize hybrid DK234 with yield potential of 13 tonnes per hectare is well adapted for the Southern and Northern Guinea Savanna ecologies and shows tolerance to Maize Streak Virus, ...
Read more