Agric Commissioners In S/West Strategize On How To Fight Food Blockade By North

South-West states have resolved to strengthen Amotekun Corps to protect farmers from activities of criminal herdsmen and kidnappers in order to make them produce more food for the consumption of the people of the region.

The state also agreed to call on existing security agencies to ensure adequate security for farmers to keep them safe in the face of renewed onslaught against fathers in the region.

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They reached this resolutions after the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria held a meeting with commissioner for agriculture and special advisers on agriculture to governors in the South-West over how to ensure food security in the region in the face of food blockade from the North.

The DAWN Commission which announced this in a statement late on Tuesday night stated that the virtual meeting was very successful and believed that the outcome would lead to increase in food production in the region very soon.

In attendance at the meeting were the Commissioner for Agriculture from Ekiti and Osun states, Mr Adedayo Adewole and Mr Olabode Adetoyi; Special Advisers to Governors of Ondo and Oyo states, Akinola Olotu and Dr. Debo Akande. Also Mr Jide Arowosafe and Mr Gbenga Osobu of Southwest Agricultural Company (SWAgCO) were among participant at the virtual meeting.

Insecurity was highlighted by all of the participants to be the foremost challenge
confronting agricultural productivity in the region because many farmers had left their farms due to frequent attacks by the marauding herders and kidnappers. The participants also resolved that security of farmers was paramount to make them return to farm.

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The states also agreed that dams in the region should be put into good use so that farming would move away from depending on rain to irrigation which would enable fathers to produce food crops all year round.

The states resolved “to strengthen the Amotekun Corps in order to confront the
renewed onslaught on our farmers working in junction with the existing security
agencies.

” The meeting also agreed to call on the security agencies to ensure that they do
not relent in their efforts in apprehending the criminal elements responsible for
the incessant attacks and economic sabotage of the region’s agricultural economy.
“Farmers lives matter, the meeting agreed that everything must be done to ensure
that our farmers are safe and can return to the farms.

” That farmers and produce sellers must be allowed to carry out their trade within
the ambit of the law and without any encumbrance and anyone attempting to
disrupt such must be decisively dealt with.

“The States are fully aware of their responsibilities in ensuring that their people
have access to food in abundance and will continue to provide the enabling
environment for such to be available in abundance.

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” That the States have noted with concern seeming threats to food supply chain but
will like to assure the people in the Region that adequate measures are being taken
to ensure that the people are not adversely affected in the medium to long term
“The state’s have agreed to work assiduously together in order to simplify access
to land in the Region for would be investors in agriculture.

“The states are working hard at putting some critical dams in the region into active
use to move our agriculture away from rain dependent to water dependent, within
the next three weeks we should be seeing action in some of the states on this.
“DAWN Commission to work with other stakeholders to ensure increased production in agricultural produce that the Region has comparative advantage.

“The states agreed to continue to share ideas on how to attract more youth into
agriculture by coping models that has worked in some sister states within the
region.”

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