We’ve recorded N27b direct investment in agribusiness, says Oyo govt

Oyo State Government has disclosed that it has facilitated about N27 billion direct private sector investments in agribusiness within three years of the Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration.

This also came as the state government is partnering the Netherlands Government through agribusiness for economic development and food security in the state.

The Director-General, Oyo Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA), Dr Debo Akande, disclosed this at the Oyo State-Dutch Collaboration for Economic Development meeting held in Ibadan.  

According to Akande, the partnership between the Netherlands and the state government was to ensure that resources coming into the economic development of Nigeria are accorded priority attention as a result of the abundant availability of human and material resources in Oyo State.

“There is no government that can do it alone; we need partners and one of the critical areas of agribusiness is to ensure that we drive the private sector as much as we can at small, medium and large-scale levels,” Akande said. 

The director-general added that Oyo State would soon commence fixing of 1500 feeder roads through Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project, RAAMP, a world bank project to enhance smooth transportation of farm produce.

“For this state, from 2019 till now, we have been able to drive N27 billion direct private sector investment in agribusiness and have over N40 billion worth of international development funds into agribusiness.

“It is this kind of partnership meeting that brings these things to fruition,” Akande said.

Akande explained that thousands of youths in the state had been trained and ready for different phases of the agricultural programmes.

He noted that other partners of the state government were being involved in the process of youth engagement in the state agribusiness programme.

Also, the Consul-General of the Netherlands in Lagos, Mr Michel Deleen, said the meeting was to bring to solutions from the Netherlands to link up businesses in Oyo State and the Netherlands for better Nigeria.

“There are lots of Dutch companies in Oyo State; we are trying to consolidate on that to see how the Dutch Government and Oyo State government can support and push further on economic development,” Deleen said.

The Permanent Secretary, Oyo State Ministry of Trade, Investment and Cooperatives, Dr Bunmi Babalola, said if the opportunity being created by the new partnership were well utilized, abundant food production and exportation would become a reality.

One of the participants, Mr Kola Adeniji, a commercial and mechanised farmer, who is the Managing Director of NIJI Group, urged the three tiers of government to ensure that good policies are in place and implemented to make agribusiness viable in Nigeria.