~VI\1UAY PUNCH SEPTEMBloR 11 . 20 n
24
Agric - Economy
FOllmdation inaugurates cassava industry in Ogun OMOBOtA JI SOLAG BAOE N
1I
bid
'0
improve the
quarit~' of life of citizens
in IURI\ elld urban lIreas of Nigeflll, 1h2 BlUish American Tobacco Nigeria Foo too<1tion hi!ls donated a aw.ava processing indushy to the Oke-Ieme Community ii' Ogun State. Speaki"3
dUring
Ihe
inaugl.llalion. the GovernOl'"
Millenmum Development Goals of the Unlled Nations and Ihe National Economic Empowerment a nd development Sirategy of the Federal GovermnenL He said. - ~ BATN Foundation has conceplualised a nd imrlemented various developmen t community
of Ogun Sta 'e, Mr. Ibikunle I\mosUIl. sed the event
HE Regio nal Represen ta tive agnaillule. of the Colol1ou· The GO\." 'rnor. who was based Africa represen ted by the Secretary Rice Cent re. Mr. to th e slale govt!'rnmenl. Francis Welle ne. has said Barris/(lr TlI'I\IO Adeoluwll. that Nigerian can capture said the 3dminishallon planned to transform all the global rice ma rke t. if the rice revolution programme farm settlements Into model is pmperly imple mented .. industrial ci!nhes 10 lakE' you l h~ of[ Itll! streets and Speaking wi th the News ceale ;o~ Iqr them. Agency of Nigeria in Abuja AI~ ') sp~ak ing at the on TIlursday, Wellene event the (hairman. BAlN obser.,ro Ihat the country Foundation. Dr. Christopher had the human resources KoIadl!. said Ihemission of the and dimatk cond ition to foundation was to improve Ihe life of dl'zens lhrough Ihe make li the biggest exporter Impleonenta Ion of \'(}rioos of the commodify Wellene o bserved Iha t community developmental 'n 8gricuilUiai Asian countries with similar projecls developm., t. 5UstalOabie weather conditions had potable wal ' r. environmental successfull y developed protection "!Ind educational the n rice production and developme1 11 . processing to dominate the AcCOl'dir g 10 KoIade. Ihe global export mat ket. four IIrea§ "e in support of 10
the
commilmer'll
development
fermentation racks. borehole and a generator to ensure continuity of power wheneve r the public PQ\Oo'er source fail s. Abo speaking at Ihe event. theStale Proje<tCoordimltor, FADAMA Ill. Mr. Ibikullie Onasanya. explained that the FADAfl.1A project \.ViIS one of the strategies of Government aimed lit reengineering the agricultural
sector as a principal source of d iveT5iriClition away from the heavy dependence on oil with II vil!\v 10 alleviating poverty. Onll5ll.nyll said. ~ The objective of FADAMA III 15 to Increase incomes of UseT5 of rurat and water resources on a sustainable basis through empowering communities to t('lke charge of thei r own development agenda
By increasing incomes of beneficiaries the projl1d would be contributing to a key Millennium Goal" According to him. the IIllervention of BATN Foundallon and FADAMA has led to the injection of aboutN3 Sm inlo the micro · economy or Oko·Lemo Community in Ewekoro local Government
Africa Rice Centre sees potential in Nigerian market
was .m indication of the goven nTltmt
projects i'l these four are"s th rough all the 36 states and the Federal Capita l Territory and this rs the second cassava cottage Industry thai the found31ion is donating to communities in Ogun State:' Th. commissioned cassava processing plant comprises a cassava graler. heavy duty c!'lssava pressers. caS5a\la silter.
,
of
He advised that Nigeria should capitalise on the current high demand for rice in sub-Saharan Africa 10 le·position its rice ind ustry. The represen tative disclosed Ihal in the past 40 to 50 years, rice production
in Africa had increased from 3 . 14 million to nnes to 14 60 million to nnes while Asia's produdion rose fro m 200 million lo nnes to over 570 million lonn('$. He observed tha t an nual consumptio n of the staple crop was a lso growing
laster Ihal1 a ny other major staple with local production unable 10 keep up with dem<lnd. He challenged the lhree tiers 01 government to ensure adequa te provision of seeds. irrigational sY5tems or earth dams as
well "s the enlightenment 01 farme rs o n modern farming techniques and how to access micro· credit. He said thaI all these wou ld produce a multiplier effecl. ~lI·sufriCle ncy and competitiveness in the internationa l malke t
'Olldo can achieve §ufficiency in rice, tomato' " " - ' HE A1t FlInners of Associa tion Nigeria in Ondo S\<Ile has said Ihal the slate call ""ain sell.su!riciency in rice lind toma lo production. if the government assisls farmers. Speaking wilh the News Agency of NigerIa in Akure on TlmrRiay. Mr Joshua Oyedele. the state chairman said. ~ No governmenl
Ihat wants to achieve rood sulliciency should play politics ~,'i th agriculture orr rice farmers are given incentives and loans by lhe slale government. \'.'e will ex port rice to olher parts of the country and West Africa." Oyedele advised GovernOI Olusegun Mimlko 10 give priority to Ihe agncuhure to ensure that the secto r took its pride of place
in the scheme of things. He also suggested that the slate government should consider engaging retirees in government·owned fa rm settlements inslead of the currently employed al the farm . According 10 him. if re tired civil servants a re given the ri gh t Incentives and put on tile farms. they would put in thelf best a nd be more committed than
fresh universrty gradua tes. whom he said. may not wanl to make a career in agriculture said AFAN Oyedele members had cultivated bred tomelto ~edlings Ihat would ffillture within two monlh~ and appealed to the stale government to lIssist the farmers 50 Ihat bolh Tlce and tomaloes could be planted in commerclat quanlily in Ihe ~ t ate
Sweet is the memory of the righteous. You are forever ;n our hearts . .
_ll~l~pR!.fiWl
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. '..' .rs. Paulina;'yabo Og'uhbOWale
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1 .. ' : I (n~e Olowora) I: '. : • April !isth)942'M Sept' ,lH)t 2QIO . •
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.li:J/ld~l' /"CII/C/llbercd by ' h llellel/
f!12'7·j ciJild re n
FlJnlola & Gboyega OJomu Morinola, Babatunde V;nka & Yolanda Ogunbovvale Mario, Oare, Arike, .1 f:A " ~ FlJlllola & Talwo Abidogun Tunji, Oylnlola, Tolulope, ; ~ Damola & Yemisl Ogunbowale Ayokunnurni &. Fiyinfol'lvva
Benjamin Svru
S YLVESTER TAYO OGUNBOWALE (Hus b ;md) - for the family
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