By Olasunkanmi Akoni

The Lagos State Government has stressed the need to boost and patronise the local products in Nigeria, particularly agricultural produce in view of the country’s present economic hardship.

Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms, Abimbola Olusanya, made the remarks, during the Farmers’ Forum, organised to commemorate the year 2023 World Food Day celebration, with the theme; “Water is life, water is food. Leave no one behind,“ held at Alausa, Ikeja,

The commemoration of the event, according to Olusanya, aims at expounding the critical role of water to life, “and water is the foundation of our food. There is no good production without water.

“It also seek to raise global awareness about the importance of water management which is very critical in the place of rapid population growth, economic development, organization and climate change affecting water availability for all.”

“We should not allow only foreign things excite us against our own local products. Without farmers, people will not be in good health.

“There are many challenges for this sector just as others also have. First is the cost of feeding livestock’s among others. The cost of feed is enough to discourage farmers.

“Many have already gone down and many exited the business. It is painful but correcting this is why we are here today. Planting or rearing is best when you grow them and are able to sell to the people as this is a major issue.

”The previous meeting that was held, one of the greatest challenges they had was access to markets. Presently, they are not enough access to markets.

“If you are able to sell your wares at the right price and the right time, it will encourage you to go back into production. How we can brainstorm and find solutions is why we are here. We must patronise our own products.

“Grants, empowerments and capacity building are ongoing by the ministry and we are not relenting as we are collaborating with the World Ban. High cost of living will still be a problem despite the trainings and capacity building.

“We need a change of orientation and perspective to this sector. We need to plan and project. The serious hindrance in this sector is that there is no price guarantee. One can’t plan when you are not even sure.”

Olusanya, however, expressed the appreciation of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to the farmers for their support in ensuring second election victory.