Last week, in yet another confirmation of the visionary governance template in Ogun State, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) identified Ogun as the state with Nigeria?s most modest year-on-year increase in food inflation. According to the NBS?s April Consumer Price Index, Ogun State also exhibited a decrease in food inflation on a month-on-month basis. The report, which indicates that Benue recorded the steepest year-on-year food inflation rise at 51.76 percent, followed by Ekiti at 34.05 percent, and Kebbi at 33.82 percent, rated Ebonyi (7.19 percent), Adamawa (9.52 percent), and Ogun (9.91 percent) as the states with slowest year-on-year food inflation increases included.

This is, of course, not due to sheer happenstance. Time and again, the Ogun State government led by Prince Dapo Abiodun has exhibited strategic foresight, placing the state at a vantage position as Nigeria navigates crisis. For instance, long before the Federal Government removed subsidy, the Abiodun government had rolled out CNG-powered buses, tricycles and motorbikes to bring down the cost of transport and leave citizens of the state with higher disposable income. It is no surprise that today, most okada riders, charging their bikes at a pittance at the designated points provided by the state government and sometimes running on that single charge for as many as three days, have abandoned any thought of petrol-run business altogether. Ogun State it was which first approved a N10,000 palliative and reduced working days for workers before other states rolled out theirs, and it similarly blazed the trail by crediting the accounts of students of the state?s origin in higher institutions during the immediate aftermath of subsidy removal, and the accounts of parents of primary and secondary school students during the same period. This was in addition to various other measures, including the creation of markets selling food at subsidized rates. Naturally, Ogun was one of the first states to announce a new minimum wage for workers.

Prince Abiodun?s administration prioritizes agriculture and food security, and key projects in the state include the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP), aimed at driving economic growth and development. The large-scale rice farm in Magboro, Obafemi Owode LGA, with 200 farmers on 200 hectares of land and seven metric tons yield per hectare, translating to 1,400 metric tons of milled rice per cycle, is not by happenstance. Governor Abiodun indeed wants Ogun State to be Nigeria?s food basket, and that is why his agricultural policies are targeted at enhancing productivity, ensuring food security, and addressing hunger. His administration is actively pursuing infrastructure development, empowerment programs, technological innovation, and strategic partnerships. In particular, he is focused on youth and women empowerment, job creation, and sustainable food system. That is the goal of initiatives such as the Soilless Farm Lab at Awowo, Ewekoro.

The governor Is providing training for young farmers. There is also the Ogun Youth Agricultural Programme, which leverages soilless technique to produce agripreneurs; wet and dry season farming targeted at significantly increased food production and revenue for farmers, and partnerships with the Federal Government and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to support agricultural development. By supporting farmers through the provision of fertilizers, seeds, and agro-chemicals at subsidized rates, off-take agreements and binding memorandums of understanding with farmers, not to mention the provision of broiler birds, Governor Abiodun is rewriting Ogun State and Nigeria?s agriculture story.

Only recently, Governor Abiodun indicated that his administration is set to build a massive Farmers? Market in many locations across the state. Hear the Governor, speaking during an on-the-spot assessment of work done on the Farmers? Market located in Asero, Abeokuta: ?The plan is to build this type of farmers? market in several locations across the state and link our farmers straight to the market locations across the state. Our intention is to actually build a massive one. I was in France a few weeks ago, and I saw the largest farmers? market in Europe, one of the largest in the world, and our intention is to replicate that in the state. The major farmers? market that we will be building will be somewhere around the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, in a yet-to-be-determined location.? The Governor added that Ogun State is the first state in the country to have a State Farmers? Management Information System, which allows the state to have information about farmers in the state: ?We know how many farmers we have, we know their demography, we know what they are planting, we know the volume we produce, and we also have their contact numbers.? Fantastic.

Ogun State is, of course, Nigeria?s investment destination of choice, helped in large part by Governor Abiodun?s project of making the state a giant construction site. Only a few days ago, in a bold move to drive industrial growth and food security, Prince Abiodun announced a strategic partnership with Ambar Energia, a leading Brazilian energy company, to establish power plants across the state. The initiative aligns with his administration?s commitment to providing reliable power supply and boosting agricultural production to support both residents and the over 6,000 industries operating within the state. Ogun and Lagos states currently consume about 40% of Nigeria?s 6,000 megawatts, yet demand is projected to rise to 45% of the megawatts by 2030. And so speaking while receiving a delegation from Ambar Energia, led by its President Marcelo Zanatta, at the Governor?s Office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, Governor Abiodun emphasized that Ogun State must take full advantage of the recent constitutional amendment that decentralizes power generation, allowing states to produce and distribute electricity independently. His words: ?The energy needs of our state are enormous. The current allocation is grossly inadequate. With this partnership, we aim to bridge that gap and unlock the full industrial potential of Ogun State.?

It Is a no-brainer that Ogun?s rapidly growing industrial clusters, including Ijebu-Ode, Abeokuta, Atan-Agbara, Remo, Imeko-Afon, and Aworo, require robust and localized energy solutions. And so: ?We?re expanding our current power infrastructure. A plant that once generated just four megawatts is being upgraded to produce 30 megawatts in its first phase?primarily to serve government offices and residential areas. But this is merely a drop in the ocean. Our goal is to replicate such captive power plants across the three senatorial districts of the state.? Indeed, how do you drive agricultural revolution without sustainable power supply? As Governor Abiodun argued quite persuasively, electricity is the key to unlocking the state?s abundant natural resources, including gold, lithium, bitumen, silica, limestone, and its dominance in cement, cassava, poultry, and egg production.

In this regard, it is quite fitting that construction is set to begin on Africa?s largest garment production facility, located at the Special Agro-Processing Zone near the Gateway International Airport, which alone will require 300 megawatts of electricity to operate. Commending Ambar Energia?ranked among Brazil?s top five energy firms with 27 plants and a combined capacity of 4.3 gigawatts?Governor Abiodun expressed confidence in the firm?s technical capacity and commitment to collaboration. Marcelo Zanatta, President of Ambar Energia, expressed readiness to work with the state in developing sustainable energy solutions, noting that his team had already visited critical infrastructure sites including the Gateway International Airport, Olorunsogo Power Plant, and the Onijanganjangan Power Plant. Besides, Governor Abiodun also received a delegation from the JBJ, JBS, and SEARRA Group of Brazil, led by renowned agribusiness leader, Jose Batista, with discussions focused on potential investments in large-scale farming and food production. The point is that with over 12,000 square kilometres of arable land, Ogun State offers vast opportunities for agricultural expansion. The Gateway State actually boasts over 200,000 registered farmers actively engaged in diverse food crop production and, so far, N5.4 billion has been invested in farmer support and training. As noted by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Aisha Rimi, who commended Ogun State?s proactive efforts in attracting credible investors, JBJ Group is Brazil?s leading cattle supplier, operating 12 farms spanning over 200,000 hectares and employing more than 5,000 people.

As part of efforts to enhance food security through mechanized farming, the Ogun State Government through the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP), in collaboration with the World Bank, recently organized a stakeholders? engagement on the management, effective utilization, and sustainability of farm mechanization equipment. As the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Bolu Owootomo, dwelt on optimal use of procured equipment, including tractors, ploughs, harrows, planters and combine harvesters, among others.

Given the foregoing, it can be no surprise that Ogun State under Governor Abiodun continues to rank high on food security initiatives. And the real story is that the best is yet to come. (THISDAY)

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