Food sufficiency: Osun commissioner inaugurates ‘Wave City’ project

Wed, Aug 5, 2020
By publisher
4 MIN READ

Health

OSUN Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Adewole Adedayo, on Tuesday, inaugurated an agricultural project, ‘Wave City,’ sited by FarmKonnect Agribusiness Nigeria Ltd at Wasimi to promote food sufficiency.

Speaking at the inauguration, Adedayo, who described the project as the first of its kind in the state and the South-West region, said it was aimed at promoting food sufficiency, national development and agricultural inclusion.

According to him, every responsible government must create an enabling environment for farmers.

“Today, I believe FarmKonnect is now realising a dream that started in 2017. Today, having FarmKonnect in Osun State is another dream.

“Today, having these facilities on ground to develop agriculture in the south-west is a dream realised. So FarmKonnect has realised a dream.

“Like I keep saying, agriculture has the highest potentials to create jobs, both for skilled and unskilled labour. So, I will like to thank FarmKonnect for bringing this project to Osun State,” he said.

According to the commissioner, agriculture is top on the agenda of the state government.

The commissioner, who highlighted the various initiatives of the government to support agricultural development, pledged the administration’s readiness to welcome investors like FarmKonnect to the state.

“We are looking for investors like this, people who will empower our youths and also create jobs for farmers,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that FarmKonnect was founded by Lt.-Col. Oluwole Azeez who voluntarily resigned from the Nigerian Army to invest in agriculture real estate business.

Azeez said that his organisation’s mission was to take agriculture beyond just planting crops and making money to a business which promotes food sufficiency, national development and agricultural inclusion.

“In FarmKonnect, we run a model we call agricultural real estate and we are the first to do that. This allows multiple people to own a portion of the farm and they don’t necessarily have to step on the farm.

“All they just need to do is engage their money and we take all the performances around. The greenhouses you are seeing here are specifically designed for the tropics.

“The vision is to build one million square metres of greenhouses, a controlled farming environment technology using greenhouses and net houses to produce fruits and leafy vegetables from tomatoes to pepper.

“This is the first of its kind in Nigeria. This is specifically designed for minimal electricity as well as to expand our yield,” he said.

Azeez  said he was grateful to the Osun government for its tremendous support to the project and assured it of greater benefits in terms of food sufficiency and job creation.

Also speaking, Dr Bosade Ogunlana, the Founder of Entrepreneurship Initiative, commended FarmKonnect for the project, saying it would help in empowering the youths.

According to her, Africa has more youths to engage in land cultivation in order to boost food sufficiency and security.

“Africa is the biggest gun of the world because over 60 per cent of arable land in the entire world resides in Africa. I know with something like this happening here today, there is hope for Nigeria.

“Agriculture is the new gold, there is no longer oil. There is nothing we want to do with oil. Agriculture can help us with the GDP of the economy.

“It can help us to engage the youths. It can help us to ensure there is no scarcity of food,” she said.

Ogunlana thanked the Osun government for its support to FarmKonnect, urging it to ensure adequate security for the project.

NAN reports that the event,  which also featured the unveiling of the tomato statue and facility tour, was held in strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols.

The event was also attended by Mr Yemi Lawal, the Commissioner for Youth and Sports in Osun, as well as representatives of the various partners of FarmKonnect.

NAN

– Aug. 05, 2020 @ 08:20 GMT |

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