The Ogun State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ronke Sokefun, on Tuesday justified the choice for the theme of the Ogun State 2104 Investor’s Forum focused on Agriculture and Urban Development.
Speaking to Channels Television before the commencement of the forum, Mrs Sokefun noted that “we do realise that agriculture has a lot of potential to create a lot of employment for our people” adding that “there is also a housing deficit and we do know that our proximity to Lagos positions us perfectly to attract more people into the housing sector in the state” insisting that “that is what informed the decision for the current year”.
To cushion the effect of accessing the credit, the Commissioner said the State government stands as a guarantor for farmers and obtain between one to two billion naira which is disbursed to farmers through commercial banks, adding that the state government bears 50 per cent of the interest that accrues from the loan.
She however lamented the challenge of documentation insisting that “you must be able as a state government to stand in the gap to be the guarantor for the farmers, but they must be in clusters” adding that we deal mostly with cooperative groups.
She described the federal government as a policy maker but noted that “in terms of execution (of these policies) it’s at the state level” and commended the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS), aimed at delivering subsidised farm inputs to farmers through an electronic wallet and eliminates “emergency fertilizer sellers”.
She added that any state government “worth its salt must have its programmes that it wants to execute and also key into the programmes of the federal government”.
Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, while announcing the date of the forum had described agriculture and urban development as veritable means to create wealth and further boost the economy of the state, adding that “indeed, when we look at the vast potential employment opportunities embedded in agriculture, the comparative advantage in land mass, we can feed ourselves and other states in South West region and create wealth if the value chain system is strictly followed”.
Amosun said the keynote address of the forum, which will focus on “Agriculture and Urban Development”, would be delivered by former President of Mexico, Mr. Felipe Calderon Hinojosa.
