Stella Damasus steps out with Daniel Ademinokan

The Lagos
State
Government
on Sunday
said it had
spent
N1billion
as support
to at least
400 graduate farmers to set up their own farms.
Commissioner for Agriculture and Co-operatives,
Prince Gbolahan Lawal said the beneficiaries were
those trained under the state’s Agricultural Youths
Empowerment Scheme (AGRIC-YES).
“The support is to give them a headstart in their
farming businesses. We are currently operating a
modern farm settlement scheme in Araga, Epe area
of Lagos, where graduates are trained in different
areas of agriculture under our AGRIC-YES
programme.
“No fewer than 400 graduates, divided into four
groups, are being exposed to practical and
sustainable ways of practising aquaculture, poultry
and crop cultivation, among others, using modern,
fully automated equipment,” he said.
The commissioner said that the essence of the
programme was to create a generation of modern
farmers, while creating job opportunities and
promoting food security.
“In the last one year, the state government has
spent more than N1billion in form of inputs, tractors,
cash and other essentials, to enable the graduates
set up their own farms,” he said.
Lawal said that the programme was fully residential,
adding that the government only recently
inaugurated 200 units of two-bedroom apartments
at the programme site, to improve the living
standards of participants.
He said that the state government was committed to
the food security of the state, saying that AGRIC
YES was one of the efforts of government to
demonstrate that.
Lawal noted that Lagos was a top producer of
poultry and that the government was assisting
farmers to boost poultry production.
“Maize is one of the major ingredients used in
poultry feed mill and in order to ensure that farmers
have all year supply of this ingredient for their
animals, the government sells directly to them at
subsidised prices.
“We have a poultry estate in Erikorodo in Ikorodu
and the government is upgrading facilities and even
providing more to boost production,” “he said.
Lawal said that government was also assisting
fishermen in coastal communities of Ojo, Badagry
and other parts, with boats and other inputs needed
in their fishing business.
The Commissioner added that the state government
had recently acquired land in Osun and Abuja for
livestock and crop production.