Farmers in Ikorodu area of Lagos State under the of Ikorodu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ICCI, have urged the Federal Government on the need to include the area as of the models for agricultural investment.
The President, Ikorodu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ICCI, Prince Jamiu Adio Saka, made the plea at a workshop organised by the Chamber in Lagos recently.
Saka said that Ikorodu division’s population was increasing without commensurate infrastructural support despite the availability of land and human potential in the area.
He therefore appealed to the government for the grant of agricultural inputs aimed at furthering the development of agriculture as a natural resource in the community.
He said: “It is a known fact that there are various investment opportunities in agricultural sector; preproduction which requires site preparation such as land clearing, land preparation and land development.
Currently few companies are engaged in providing these services and many farmers are not skilled in good site preparation techniques. “Seed production and distribution, fertilizer production and distribution, crop cultivation, fisheries, are various segments which are in high need of investment in agricultural sector.
“Our country particularly Ikorodu Division is blessed with environment conducive for agricultural development as a main stay of our economy.
Our natural endowment should therefore be taken seriously as National Project through the adoption of technically driven Modern Farming Practices and Mechanised Farm operations for increased productivities.”
The ICCI Boss disclosed that agriculture was the only sector in which the country has advantage currently to diversify its economy. he however expressed concern over the rate at which the sector developed despite various campaigns for its development across the nation and beyond.
Meanwhile, an official in Agribusiness sector of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Tony Bello said that government’s efforts towards economic diversification through agriculture sector had been intensified.
He hinted the farmers that the Federal Government had started acquiring lands in some states for developmental models for agricultural investment while advising them to be part of the programme by applying through their various associations and organisations.
He also advised them to go into partnership with big private investors, who could help in the proper utilization of their landing property for agribusiness, thereby developing their community along agricultural value chains
