By Bolaji Tunji
Though Senator Abiola Ajimobi is no longer the governor of Oyo State, it is difficult to forget some of the lofty plans he had for Oyo state which earned him the Sobriquet of the father of Modern Oyo State. One of such was his plan to revolutionise agriculture in the State. His take then was that to industrialise the state, agriculture is key as it would be the source of raw materials. On this note the administration in which I served decided to look at the opportunity that could be created through wholesome land allocation to would-be farmers.
The allocation of land was done under the government’s policy called Agro Industrial Zones. The idea was to make land available to large agricultural investors. The government resorted to this option when it became difficult to access land directly from our communities. The land that was allocated then were the depleted portion of the forest reserves. Depleted in the sense that they had been encroached upon and the trees had been felled, illegally without people planting replacements.
An example of it is the 2000 ha that was allocated to a company called Globus Ltd. It was used as a pilot project. They have built a huge Agro Industrial Complex. They are generating employment in the thousands.
A condition was also attached to the allocation to the effect that allottees must plant trees to compensate for the agricultural sites. It was a means of transforming the state’s agricultural landscape and moving the people away from peasant cutlass and hoes farming to modern agricultural practices. Like what Senator Ajimobi did then, it was not free. You have to pay whether as an appointee or member of the public.
Secondly the State under the watch of Senator Ajimobi embarked on a partnership with the IITA which led to the publication of a book entitled; “Oyo State Agricultural Transformation Policy Framework. It was a 25-year agricultural policy goal.
Thirdly, the State embarked on the construction of a strategic storage facility which birthed the 10,000 metric ton Silos for Strategic storage in Oyo town.
In order to create enough manpower for this agricultural revolution, the College of Agric Igboora was made autonomous.
Senator Ajimobi led from the frontline. He travelled outside the State. He was in Republic of Benin which birthed the idea of a model farming settlement , Songhai farming in Awe.
It led to the establishment of a partnership with Dangote for the planting of rice in the State. It is the way to go. I recall Lagos State partnering with Kebbi State on rice. (Lagos has resources but limited land) which led to Lake rice, a name taken from the first two letters of the two states.
As for, I wanted to try the farming approach, land was allocated to me, unfortunately , I was unable to muster the resources to pay for the land in spite of serving in that govt. That’s the administration Senator Ajimobi ran. No free lunch in Freetown.
The State will be better for it if subsequent administrations follow up on the above.
Bolaji Tunji is the media adviser to ex-Governor Ajimobi
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