After Hon Babalola’s Motion Urging Govt To Subsidize Food Items, Gov Makinde Takes Decisive Steps To Stem Artificial Scarcity, Price Hike

After Hon Babalola’s Motion Urging Govt To Subsidize Food Items, Gov Makinde Takes Decisive Steps To Stem Artificial Scarcity, Price Hike

Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has declared some far-reaching measures towards addressing the rising cost of food in the state, stating that his government will continue to do everything necessary to make life easy for residents of the state.

He declared that his government will move in to subsidise land clearing for farmers across the state with an initial sum of N600 million, with farmers now expected to pay N15,000 instead of N30,000 for land clearing, while the government will pay the balance.

The governor also declared an immediate suspension of revenue collection on farm produce marketed within the state for the next six months, noting, however, that agricultural produce taken out of the borders of Oyo State will attract necessary revenues.

Governor Makinde, who stated this on Wednesday, at a meeting with stakeholders in the agriculture sector, held at the Fasola Agribusiness Industrial Hub, Oyo, said the government would also provide tractors and haulage trucks for farmers, among other measures.

The governor, who said the state has disbursed N1billion to smallholder farmers through the Sustainable Action for Economic recovery (SAfER), also declared that the Agriculture Credit Corporation of Oyo State (ACCOS) loan support to farmers will no longer require a civil servant as guarantor, stating that farm associations will now guarantee their members to have access to the loan.

government officials, with the mandate “to track the decisions we have taken here today so that six months down the line when we gather again to look at how far we have gone, it will be quite easy to track those things.”
He added, “You also said the extension workers were visible under OYSADEP but not visible again under OYSADA. It is because they are now under the Ministry of Agriculture.

“I asked the Commissioner why they are not active and he said there was no budget for them before he got into the office but there is a budget this year and there will be changes. But if we do not feel their impact, we will move them to OYSADA. What this means is, they have to be visible and contribute to the efforts we are putting into food production in the state.”