Setting the stage for food sufficiency in Oyo State | Sulaimon Olanrewaju

It is a new dawn for Oyo State smallholder farmers as the state government provides the needed support in the areas of land clearing, soil testing, farm inputs, fertilizers and funding.

Nigeria has about 40million smallholder farmers, who put in an average of 12 hours daily on almost 70.8million hectares of land. But despite the huge number of farmers, the vastness of the land they cultivate and the extent of their hard work, Nigeria is currently in the throes of food insecurity. As a result, Nigeria has had to depend on food importation to augment local production. The smallholder farmers’ impact on food sufficiency has been impeded by their reliance on outmoded agricultural practices and their deployment of outdated implements. Consequently, the farmers have poor yields which vitiates food security in the country and subject farmers to penury.

Propelled by the desire to achieve food sufficiency and improve the lot of smallholder farmers in the state, the Seyi Makinde-led administration in Oyo State has rolled out a number of interventions which are already transforming the agricultural space in the state.

One of the major challenges smallholder farmers encounter in their enterprise is ploughing their farmlands. Due to the size of their operations, smallholder farmers cannot afford to buy tractors, so they resort to hiring same at a huge cost. This does two things: it jacks up the cost of production and discourages farmers from cultivating as much land as they would have wanted to. During a meeting with smallholder farmers at Fasola Industrial Hub early in the year, the farmers brought the issue of high cost of hiring tractors to the attention of Governor ‘Seyi Makinde. The governor immediately came up with the tractorisation subsidy policy, through which the state government defrays 50 percent of the cost of hiring tractors to clear farmlands. He subsequently approved N600million for the scheme.

To bring the governor’s vision to life and ensure value for the state’s investment in the smallholder farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, under the leadership of Barrister Olasunkanmi Olaleye, resolved to deploy a booking app that would provide adequate information about the farms to the ministry as a way of guarding against anyone gaming the system. The ministry also trained its extension officers and directors of agriculture across the 33 local government areas on the farmers’ booking applications and providing needed support to the farmers.

Speaking on this scheme, Barrister Olaleye said, “We have trained our extension officers on the Farmer’s Booking Application and we are doing this in partnership with Hello Tractors. What this means is that the extension officers can go to the farm now based on the request of beneficiaries, take measurements, co-ordinate activities and tell us the exact size of the farmland.

“This will make it possible for us to know the number of hectares the farmer has and make it possible for us to determine the 50 per cent payable on that.

“We are also going to be working with private tractor owners who are going to be tracked. The Farmers’ Booking App we have is such that, as our extension workers are booking farmers, we can monitor the exact size of the farmland from our office in Ibadan. We can also see the way the tractors are working and know the exact size covered on the same farmland.”

Olaleye said a total of 2,347 smallholder farmers from across the state working on 9,315 acres of land had already signified intention to participate in the exercise, expressing the hope that more farmers would still enlist.

One major factor that has hindered smallholder farmers’ optimal output is the quality of the soil used for planting. Many of the farmers have used the same land for decades. This has resulted in the soil losing its nutrients which affects the quality of yields. To correct this and ensure maximum yield for farmers, Oyo State Government recently launched a comprehensive digital soil testing initiative across 100 communities in the state. The scheme, which is in conjunction with OCP Africa, a private agribusiness firm, is designed to provide farmers with precise soil data, which will enable them to maximize their farming practices and increase productivity. The initiative involves deploying advanced soil testing technology to analyse the nutrient content and composition of soil with a view to employing best farming practices for high yields and profitability.

The digital soil tests deliver real-time data, which can be used to tailor fertiliser applications and improve soil health. This enhances the efficiency of farming operations and reduces environmental impact by eliminating the overuse of fertilisers.

According to Barrister Olaleye, “By understanding the unique characteristics of the soil and implementing appropriate soil management practices, we can enhance crop yields; improve farm profitability and safe-guard long term viability of agricultural lands.

“The training and registration of farmers will enable us to gather valuable data on the soil health status of our farming areas, identify potential challenges, and opportunities and tailor interventions to address specific needs.

“By collaborating with OCP Africa, targeted strategies to promote soil conservation could be developed and the use of appropriate soil amendments could also be achieved.”

The commissioner added that the soil test would be extended to all farmlands in Oyo State, noting that this would increase productivity of all farmers in the state and position the state for food sufficiency.

Since soil fertility is not the only determinant of yields, Oyo State Government has also provided agricultural inputs to farmers across the state. Over 10,000 farmers from all the 33 Local Government Areas in the state have benefited from agricultural input distribution carried out in four phases with each of them receiving 40 bundles of cassava stems and 16kg of improved Premiere maize seeds. These are special inputs that guarantee maximum yields. Each of the farmers also got one knapsack sprayer, 20gm Atrazine, one bottle of Zeetact herbicide as well as 16gm of Emmamectin and one liter of Kombat Insecticide to protect their crops against invasion of destructive insects.

To ensure that nothing hinders the productivity of the farmers, Oyo State Government also provided 21,000 bags of fertilisers to 10,500 farmers.

While flagging off the distribution of fertilisers at OYSADA Warehouse, Fertiliser Store, Laniya, Ojongbodu area in Oyo town recently, Barrister Olaleye said the event was a testament to Governor Makinde’s resolve to increase food production and boost the economy of the state.

The commissioner stated that the gesture would improve crop productivity, enhance food security and increase the income of rural farmers, adding that the state government was committed to boosting agricultural productivity while positioning farmers for sustainable growth and prosperity.

To ensure farmers’ liquidity, the state government, as part of the Sustainable Actions for Economic Recovery (SAfER), has supported over 3,000 farmers with a sum of N1billion as agric credit loan through the Oyo State Agricultural Credit Corporation. Qualified farmers had access to between N250,000 and N1 million based on the size of their farms to improve their farming enterprise.  To qualify for the facility, farmers were asked to provide civil servants on Grade Level 7 and above as guarantors.

However, when the government got to know that some farmers were finding it difficult to access the loans because they couldn’t get civil servants as guarantors, it expanded the pool of guarantors beyond civil servants on Grade Level 07 and above by allowing executive members of registered farmers’ associations to serve as guarantors.

While supporting experienced farmers with various interventions, Oyo State Government has also put in place a process to encourage young people to take up farming. Recently, the state launched a comprehensive training programme for young farmers in rural communities as part of its continued efforts to enhance food security.

While declaring the training open at the Oyo State- IITA Youth Incubation Park Centre, Awe, Barrister Olaleye said the programme was designed to reduce unemployment among young people and increase food production.

The commissioner said the 62 participants selected from various rural communities in the state would each be allocated two acres of land to cultivate as a demonstration farm. They were also given free inputs like maize seed, cassava stems and herbicides, amongst others.

But crop farmers are not the only ones that have benefitted from the support of Oyo State Government. A total of 2,660 poultry farmers across the state have each been given eight bags of 50kg of maize grain, a total of 1,000 fish farmers across the state were each given three bags of fish feeds, no fewer than 1,008 swine farmers across the state have benefited from the free distribution of 100kg bags of palm-kernel cakes and two jars of Agrichlor disinfectants each all of which have enhanced their capacity and boosted their productivity.

There has also been a statewide free vaccination of 250,000 sheep/goats and 120,000 cattle with application of anthrax and CBPP vaccines respectively.  During the vaccination, a total of 2,536 cattle, sheep and goat farmers also received two bags each of 50kg Brewers’ Dried Grains (BDG) and one block of salt.

The various interventions of the government have attracted appreciation from different segments of the agricultural community in the state. All the beneficiaries, including members of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Oyo State chapter, concurred that the support they have received from the administration of Governor ‘Seyi Makinde is unprecedented in the history of Oyo State, adding that with the support not only is food security in the state a given, farmers are also poised to benefit from the prosperity which the current administration is spreading across the state.    

.Dr Olanrewaju is the Chief Press Secretary to Oyo State Governor.