Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State on Tuesday in Akure distributed agricultural inputs and machineries to over 1,000 farmers across the 18 local government areas of the state.
Akeredolu distributed the items in Akure during the presentation of certificates of registration to 142 trained youths from three cooperative groups.
He said the distribution was part of efforts of his administration to achieve food sufficiency in the state.
Irrigation equipment to secondary schools were also distributed by the governor.
He noted that anybody could invest in agriculture, as “no matter the job you are doing, be you government worker or so, you can farm, the constitution allows it”.
Akeredolu said the event was an important step toward ensuring food security, particularly at the family level.
He urged the secondary school students to take agriculture as a vocation when it seems nothing was ‘working’ in the country.
“It is expedient for secondary schools to go into agriculture, we want to encourage you.
“Agriculture should not be taken as punitive measures in school. You must take joy in doing it. It is also a form of exercise,” the governor said.
Earlier, the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Agriculture and Agribusiness, Mr Akin Olotu, said food security was important and the state government was committed to it.
Olotu said this was the reason the state government had been allocating and giving individuals and groups, various farm inputs and machineries.
He told the governor that farmers in the state were planning to reactivate and have their own Microfinance bank to ensure farmers had unhindered access to funds.
“Irrigation has become imperative in agriculture and we are working to move from rain farming agriculture to irrigation farming. This is why we are sharing irrigation equipment too,” Olotu said.
The Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture, Taofiq Mohammed, expressed delight with Akeredolu’s administration on the encouragement given to Agribusiness.
Also, the Chairman, Ondo State Agricultural Commodities Association, Mr Gbenga Obaweya, assured that beneficiaries would put the items to proper use.
