Kogi Government Deepens Ties With Agencies, Investors For Food Security, Agro-export

The Kogi State Government said it has intensified collaboration with national agencies and planetary partners to reposition agriculture arsenic the mainstay of the state’s economy, guarantee nutrient information and beforehand agriculture products export.

Kogi State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Timothy Ojomah, stated this erstwhile helium led a squad to Geregu successful Ajaokuta section authorities area, wherever authorities officials and delegation of agriculture experts and investors inspected farms and engaged stakeholders connected opportunities for mechanised farming and marketplace enlargement successful the state.

Ojomah said the inaugural reflects Governor Usman Ododo’s imaginativeness of leveraging the state’s resources successful agriculture to make jobs, empower farmers, and fortify the economy.

“Our Governor has ever said we indispensable nutrient what we devour and devour what we produce. With mechanisation, innovation, and the close partnerships, Kogi volition not lone provender its radical but besides enactment neighbouring states and perchance person capable to export.

“Agriculture remains our champion way to occupation creation, particularly for the thousands of graduates produced each twelvemonth successful our universities,” helium said.

Also speaking, Special Adviser to the President connected Agriculture, Mathew Ajayi, explained that the concern aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s nutrient information docket and efforts to trim Nigeria’s dependence connected nutrient imports.

“Nigeria spends billions of dollars annually connected nutrient imports. Our extremity is to reverse this inclination by promoting crops similar rice, maize, soybeans, and currency crops for export. This concern with Kogi and Onida Agri volition assistance america execute that and make billions of dollars successful cultivation exports,” helium stated.

Similarly, Director-General of the Kogi State Commodity Exchange, Victor Omofaiye emphasised the relation of the bureau successful ensuring that farmers get just marketplace prices and entree to export opportunities.

“Our mandate is to amended nutrient security, found a commodity exchange, and beforehand export. By creating marketplace accessibility, we volition guarantee our farmers are not shortchanged, and we volition alteration crops similar atom into exportable commodities,” helium said

Managing Director of Onida Agri and Aquaculture Solutions Ltd, Israel Kidron described Kogi arsenic a premier determination for modern farming owed to its fertile onshore and abundant water.

“We came to Kogi due to the fact that it has each the parameters for palmy agriculture. We are looking to found modern, year-round operations supported by technology, amended varieties, and mechanisation. Beyond that, we volition bid farmers and transportation cognition to guarantee amended yields and quality,” helium said.

He added that Onida Agri, with implicit 35 years of cultivation acquisition successful Africa and 15 years successful Nigeria, was committed to supporting Kogi successful achieving nutrient information portion positioning its crops for planetary markets.

The concern is expected to screen immoderate section authorities areas successful the state, providing employment opportunities, empowering farmers, and driving Kogi’s emergence arsenic a cardinal subordinate successful Nigeria’s cultivation translation worth chain.