The South-West Development Commission (SWDC) has inaugurated an Action Committee to drive the implementation of TransComs, its rural transformation initiative aimed at converting rural communities into integrated economic hubs across the region.

The committee, inaugurated at the close of the TransComs co-creation roundtable held at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, is expected to execute pilot projects and lay the foundation for regional expansion within 180 days.

Speaking at the inauguration, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of SWDC, Dr. Charles ‘Diji Akinola, said the committee would function as the Commission’s delivery engine, moving the initiative from stakeholder engagement to practical impact.

According to him, the programme is designed to ensure measurable transformation in rural communities through coordinated partnerships, investment mobilisation and strategic implementation.

The committee will be jointly led by Dr. Akinola and Prof. Oyebanji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, Programme Director of the Foundation for Technology Innovation and Sustainable Development (FTID), the Commission’s technical partner on the project.

Akinola explained that the committee was structured around four major pillars to strengthen credibility and reduce implementation risks.

He said development finance institutions such as the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Bank of Industry (BoI), alongside the South-West Agribusiness Company (SWAgCo), would provide support for financing and investment coordination.

He added that policy and institutional coordination would involve the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, the Southwest Governors’ Forum, as well as commissioners for agriculture and budget from Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states.

Private sector participation, according to him, includes agribusiness operators such as Psaltery International and Niji Farms, logistics and energy experts, and officials of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, while development partners including the Sasakawa Africa Association and UNICEF would provide technical and community engagement support.

The committee’s immediate assignment includes coordinating partnerships among federal, state and private sector actors, mobilising financial and technical resources, and implementing pilot projects in Fapote, Ogbomoso and Ara in Osun State.

It is also expected to develop governance and sustainability frameworks that would support the expansion of the initiative across the 137 local government areas in the South-West.

“TransComs is not another report on the shelf. This committee is our delivery engine,” Akinola said.
TransComs, short for Transformed Communities, is SWDC’s cluster-based rural development model designed to integrate agriculture, housing, logistics, enterprise development and youth employment to stimulate economic growth in rural areas.

The programme targets increasing household income from $2 to $10 per day within five years.

Also speaking, Prof. Oyelaran-Oyeyinka described a TransCom as a functional community hub where residents could work, trade, learn and build sustainable livelihoods, with agriculture serving as a catalyst for broader economic prosperity.