The Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Architect ‘Yomi Awoniyi paid the Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed a courtesy call at the Government House in Ilorin seeking alliance for the creation of agricultural revolution in the country.
Awoniyi said his team was in the state to understudy the Shonga Commercial Farm project and other agricultural initiatives.
Kwara State Governor Ahmed told his guest that the Kwara State five-year agricultural masterplan, which addresses youth unemployment, wealth creation; commercial farming, premised on shared prosperity would be showcased at the next meeting of the Northern States Governors’ Forum.
According to him, the Kwara State agricultural masterplan which had inputs from the Cornell University of New York, Kwara State University and the University of Ilorin would transform the state into the agricultural hub of the country.
Ahmed said the Shonga commercial farms project has emerged as a workable model that could be replicated in all the 16 local government councils of the state. He added: “We have enumerated farmers in the state, compartmentalized them into cooperative groups based on crops, locations and farm sizes.”
The visiting Kogi State Deputy Governor, Architect Awoniyi said agriculture was crucial to the development of Nigeria and that the huge potentials of the country in the sector must be tapped. He commended the Kwara State government’s initiative for the transformation of agricultural practice in the country, which he said could be of advantage to Kogi State’s agricultural policy.
The deputy governor said Kogi State would soon launch a farm settlement scheme, which would create employment opportunities for the youths and enhance food sufficiency in the state.
