By Olasunkanmi Akoni

The administration of Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has built a 20,000 metric tonnes per annum Rice Milling Plant at the Agro-Industrial Park, Imota to boost capacity of the local rice production in the state. The government has also  increased the hectareage rice plantation from 30 ha to 450 ha and is planning to increase production to 1000 ha.

A lot of work had also been done in the cassava sector of the Transformation Agenda. It had delineated areas around Ikorodu, Epe and Ibeju Lekki axis as Cassava Production and Processing Belt (CPPB), where incentives for cassava production, processing and marketing would be concentrated. This is to promote employment, rural development and reduce poverty through the economics of cassava production.

A modern cassava processing plant to produce High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) has been processed for construction in the CPPB.

In the Aquaculture value-chain the state government aimed at creating an enabling environment to achieve one million metric tons of fish sustainability within five years and to generate five hundred thousand jobs within Lagos State that would lead the nation.

Being the foremost state with the greatest potential in aquaculture, the state has invested in the following areas: Hatcheries development, cage and pen culture using water bodies, fish estate and clusters, fish processing plants, fish feed milling and inputs development, research and extension among others.

Thus, as part of effort to boost local production of various agricultural produce, the state government has acquired land from neighbouring states for framing purposes for the ever increasing populace in the state.

Fashola, who was represented by his deputy, Mrs Orelope Adejoke-Adefulire, disclosed this at the official presentation of farming equipment to beneficiaries and commissioning of farm service centre, Oko-Oba, Agege, Lagos.

The event which also marked the 2012 Farmers Appreciation Day, the second of its kind, to celebrate and appreciate the efforts of farmers and fishermen in the state witnessed the distribution of various agricultural inputs worth over N32 million at 40 percent subsidy by the state government to beneficiaries.

According to Fashola, who stated that the measure also aimed at bringing service closer to farmers and stakeholders, promised that by year 2025, the state would produce at least 20 to 25 percent of its food needs locally and 60 percent target by 2050.

He noted that the centre had trained 1000 farmers since its inception in all aspect of livestock, poultry, piggery and snail production, noted that the country was faced with the challenge of feeding its huge population and food security was being threatened by rising food prices, which is a major sign of food crisis in Nigeria.

“Food security which is one of the cardinal programmes of the ten-point agenda of my administration is also an integral part of the Lagos State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (LASEEDS) document as well as the resolutions of the Ehingbeti summit and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It also tallies with the objectives of establishing the farm service centre to train more people in sustainable food production”, he added.

He said that the state government had commenced the process of decentralizing the entre by replicating it in the five divisions of the state in order to bring service closer to the people.

“The state has commenced the purchase of land from other states in order to achieve its food security agenda. An example is Oshogbo, where we would soon commence the planting of cash and food crops like pineapple, citrus and other high value crops to sustain our people.