Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has been awarded the Agriculture Friendly Governor of the year by the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), for his transformational approach to sustainable food security in the State.
Receiving the award at the Eagles Square, Abuja, Governor Abiodun said his administration’s agenda was to attain self-sufficiency in food security, through Public-Private Partnership collaboration, to enable Ogun to meet the food demands of other States in the country.
Abiodun, represented by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Adeola Odedina stated that in the last three years, over 150,000 youths had been enrolled to take advantage of the incentives in agriculture and its value-chain, adding that his administration would continue to encourage local processing of farm produce, to enhance food production.
While appreciating the NALDA for taking records of his government’s activities since inception, the State helmsman said “this award is a dedication to more work and as a government, we will not take it for granted. Other sectors of our State’s economy which are Infrastructure, Social Well-being, Education, Youth Employment and Empowerment in line with our ‘ISEYA’ mantra will be well managed to attract more investors”.
Earlier in his address, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha said the agricultural policy of the country was to further develop and promote a more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems for the people, enjoining stakeholders to evolve a virile system that would facilitate the use of agriculture for socio-economic development, particularly at the grassroot level.
The event had in attendance the Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Muhammed Abubakar and his counterpart in the State for FCT, Hajia Ramatu Aliyu, State Governors and other top government functionaries, with the distribution of empowerment packages, such as day old chicks, battery cages, feeding and water troughs to some beneficiaries.