In a bid to ensure an adequate supply of raw materials for agro-allied industries, Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Security says government will sustain linkage with cassava farmers for increased production.
Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Hon. Bolu Owotomo, stated this during a meeting with the Managing Director, Harvest Feeds and Agro-processing Limited, Ajura in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area, Mr. Goke Adeyemi, explaining that the measure would ensure synergy between farmers and off-takers, to reduce postharvest loses.
He said the Ministry, alongside other intervention projects such as Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), OG-CARES and Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP), would work towards meeting the capacity requirement of the company and other cassava processing companies across the state.
Speaking earlier, Mr. Adeyemi said the visit was to seek ways of collaborating with the state to achieve the company’s target of 130,000 metric tonnes of cassava per annum, disclosing that the company was an agricultural value-chain development firm which produces quality starch of international standard.
Meanwhile, the Ministry has revealed plans to partner Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), to deepen financial access for agricultural purposes.
Hon. Owotomo gave the hint while playing host to the Programme Officer, Project, Monitoring, Reporting and Remediation Office, Mr. Raphael Olatunji Ogidan, at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, stating that the Ministry would look into areas of partnering with the agency so that loan facilitated for agricultural purposes could be recovered.
