Oyo State, IITA seal pact to develop blueprint, establish agribusiness park
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The Oyo state government and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and have signed a deal to develop an agricultural blueprint for the state, and the establishment of agribusiness park.
According to a statement made available to BusinessDay, the agricultural blueprint will clearly outline the opportunities, weaknesses, threats and agenda for the state in the short, medium and long term to transform its agriculture.
Also, the statements states that the agribusiness park would be developed in phases which include the development of an integrated cassava value chain in Gambari area of Oyo state on about 6,000 hectares.
Similarly, the integrated agribusiness park include the construction and installation of machineries and the processing of start, ethanol amongst other by products of cassava as well as the marketing of the finished products to industries.
According to Abiola Ajimobi, Oyo state Governor, the project will be funded by the state.
“Our aim is to boost food production, create jobs and wealth for our people,” Governor Abiola Ajimobi, who was represented by Prince Oyewole Oyewumi Commissioner of Agriculture, at the funds release program recently.
Initial investment for the first phase of the project will cost N55million, with additional investments expected to come in as implementation commences, the statement stated.
Besides the development of an agric blueprint, the first phase will focus on the cultivation of between 50 – 150 hectares of cassava.
DKenton Dashiell, deputy director-partnerships for delivery, IITA commended the state for engaging the institute and committing resources to finance the project.
“We are glad to see Oyo State moving forward with an action plan to transform agriculture and are honored to be part of their team,” Dashiell said.
Located in the south west Nigeria, Oyo state is characterized by Derived savannah in the north and Humid Forest in the south. These two agro-ecologies support a diversity of staple crops such as cassava, maize, soybean, yam, banana and plantains, and cash crops such as cashew and citrus among others.
“The collaboration goes to show how Oyo state has become serious with agriculture,” Nteranya Sanginga, director general, IITA said in the statement.
Under the policy component of the deal, IITA will work with the National Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Oyo State Ministry of Agriculture, and the Oyo State Agricultural Development Program.
It is envisaged that the policy will drive the agricultural sector by attracting private capital to the state, and in fact making the state the most preferred agro-allied investment destination in Nigeria.
Alfred Dixon, director for development & delivery, IITA, described the event as a significant moment aimed at bringing genuine transformation to Oyo state in general, and resource-poor farmers in particular.
In the last eight years, the Oyo State government has embarked on reforms to transform its economy through diversification with emphasis on agriculture.
Josephine Okojie