In furtherance of its resolution to boost food production, the Ogun State Government has distributed 4,000 bags of agricultural soil improver lime to farmers for increased agricultural products.
Consultant on Agriculture, Dr. Adetunji Oredipe, who made this known during the ceremonial flag-off for the distribution in Abeokuta, said each farmer would get two bags, pointing out that the current administration would continue to strive for the agricultural development of the State.
Dr. Oredipe revealed that agricultural lime, supplied by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, was a valuable soil conditioner that helps plant to flourish and fish to thrive by lowering the acidity of the soil and pond water, thereby increasing soil and water alkalinity.
“The State Government recognises the need to support agriculture and encourage new entrants into agriculture by providing an enabling environment to practice agriculture. This distribution is a welcome development and I want to urge our farmers to key into it, in order to stimulate accelerated food production and anticipated food security, not only for our State, but for Nigeria as a nation”, Oredipe said.
Earlier in her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs. Abosede Ogunleye submitted that agricultural lime usage cuts across all aspects of agriculture, such as, crop production, fish farming, livestock production, as well as purification of well water in rural communities.
“Agricultural lime, when applied to fish pond water, helps to improve the water quality parameters, most especially water PH level, water turbidity and the release of corresponding cation for fish production. To a livestock farmer, agricultural lime can be seen as a sanitizer as it accelerates decomposition when applied to heaps of animals’ dung and even human faeces”, Ogunleye explained.
In her speech, the Programme Manager, Ogun State Agricultural Development Programme, (OGADEP), Mrs. Taiwo Ayansanwo said liming is the process of applying agricultural lime to soil or water which helps to improve soil quality, promote luxuriant growth of planted crops and provides conducive environment for soil microbes to multiply and perform their functions.
She also noted that the proper use of the lime in the right form and quantity is the panacea for reaping the benefits of liming, saying that at a correct PH level, plants would become greener, stronger, uses less water and resistance to diseases.
While advising farmers to make optimal use of the product to improve their agricultural production, one of the beneficiaries, Mr. Shobowale Olufemi, commended Government for the gesture, urging farmers to co-operate with the current administration, as it had promised to take agriculture to the next level in the State.
