News in brief:
– Ekiti State will focus its 2025 budget on agriculture to boost food security and empower young farmers.
– Governor Oyebanji’s administration partners with private companies to support young farmers and improve infrastructure.
Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, recently announced that the state’s 2025 budget will prioritise agriculture development to boost food production and ensure food security. The goal is to make Ekiti the ‘food basket’ of Nigeria, reducing dependency on other regions and ensuring that the state’s residents have enough food.
This announcement was made during the governor’s visit to farms under the Bring Youth Back into Agriculture Project in Ekiti’s North senatorial districts. The project encourages young farmers to embrace agriculture as a sustainable way to secure livelihoods.
Oyebanji emphasised the state’s collaborations with agribusiness investors and young farmers to enhance agricultural productivity. This initiative is designed to create economic opportunities for the youth, making them employers of labor.
According to the governor, Ekiti’s youth have proven to be productive and willing to work if given the right platforms. The project involves partnerships with private sector companies like YSJ, which provide land clearing services and subsidised inputs to encourage youth participation in farming.
The governor shared that the 2025 budget will focus on food security and agriculture, alongside citizens’ welfare. Investments in agricultural infrastructure, such as rehabilitating farm roads and providing irrigation systems, will be scaled up. He also committed to de-risking the agricultural value chain by improving security and providing electricity to rural farming communities.
He mentioned that his administration’s efforts in the past two years to build the capacity of farmers, create markets for farm produce, and enhance overall food production, which is now yielding positive results.
Empowering youths in agriculture
Governor Oyebanji expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for the financial support given to Ekiti State to drive its agricultural development. This support has allowed the state to invest in resources like vehicles for farming groups, raincoats, boots, and irrigation systems to mitigate the effects of poor rainfall.
The initiative has proven that the youth in Ekiti are capable of transforming the agricultural landscape. The state government, in collaboration with private partners, cleared farmland free of charge for the youth and provided inputs at subsidized rates, helping them kickstart their farming ventures.
Oyebanji assured residents of continued support, including compensation for farmers whose lands were acquired for state projects, as well as improved infrastructure like farm roads and electricity.
