FG to support farmers on irrigation

By Fatima Muraina
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The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sufficiency has expressed its readiness to support Agbeladun Agricultural Empowerment, an NGO, for food sufficiency and sustainability.
The Federal Ministry Director in Ondo State, Mr. Hakeem Ogundeko, stated this shortly after his visit to the Agbeladun agricultural demonstration farm sites in Ondo town and Ile-Oluji areas of the state.
He expressed satisfaction with the level of work done at the Ondo Agbeladun farm site, which he said was highly commendable.

Ogundeko said that the federal government would be assisting farmers with irrigation facilities to ensure dry season farming for food production throughout the year.
Agbeladun, Ogundeko said, would be among the beneficiary groups, with the programme set to commence soon.
The state chairman of Agbeladun Empowerment NGO , Mr Frankline Fadoju said the visitation represents another stride in our focus to assist the government in changing the narrative, bringing people on board to engage in farming, particularly arable farming, and to put high-quality food on our tables.
The main purpose of the visit was to observe the plans of the Federal Government in assisting farmers with dry season farming and to explore other areas of potential collaboration to ensure that Agbeladun is part of agricultural re-engineering.

Agbeladun is currently working on its senatorial farms, with plans to extend its reach by pooling resources together to gain support from both the state and federal governments, as well as international donors and corporate entities that are ready to collaborate with us to assist our people in obtaining quality food.
He emphasised that farmers need the support of government at all levels to meet the target for food production and sufficiency.
He urged the government to be more proactive in opening up rural roads, which he described as a major challenge for farmers.
“Money is in the farms, in the bush, and Nigerians should diversify their economy by paying closer attention to farming,” he said.

He also called on the government to assist in identifying farmers and groups, providing tractors, planting equipment, chemicals, inputs, and financial support.
“We have positioned ourselves to at least aggregate our knowledge as a team to help the agricultural sector and support the state’s agricultural business. So, they should help us. We are looking for their help, and they will not regret it,” he stated.