Wale Jagun
The Lagos State Government through the Office of Rural Development has charged Lagosians especially those in rural communities to get involved in mini – farming to produce for their immediate needs and also derive economic power thereof.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Rural Development, Dr. Nurudeen Yekini Agbaje, gave the charge during the distribution of farm implements at the Centre for Rural Development (CERUD). He emphasised the distribution of the equipment is part of the government’s means of promoting farming among residents and improving food productions in the state.
Some of the equipment distributed to beneficiaries that gathered across the state were grain planters, hoes, brush cutters, cutlasses, hand gloves, rakes, and shovels, among others.
“Mr Governor wants every one of us to have little idea about the agricultural system whereby food will not be a problem in the city of Lagos .
‘If you have an idea about mini agriculture through which you can plant some agricultural produce within a community, locality, range or compound, it will go a long way in making food available and improve our economy. That is why the governor is giving out these agricultural tools to the people in the rural areas so that they can have something to farm with,” he said.
He noted the importance of getting more people into farming, stating that apart from getting more food for the farmer’s immediate family, there would also be surplus to sell for economic power.
“When the First Lady of Nigeria came to Lagos, she charged that all and sundry must embrace farming even if it’s just within our homes and that’s what Mr Governor is doing through the CERRUB, mandating us to go round the rural communities to improve their involvement in agriculture because if an individual plant in his house, such would definitely produce more than he and family will consume.
“The excess can be used to generate income and that is why we are encouraging people to embrace farming by giving them some implements to aid them in planting maize, banana, soya and pineapple.
“You can see people in their large numbers coming to benefit because this is a programme that people have embraced. You can see that from their facial expressions. This is just to encourage farming within our community.”
He emphasised that CERUD was created to interface with people in rural communities and solve their problems and while also assuring that the agency will continue to offer support.
