South-West governors have opted to bolster security around farms in the area by establishing specialized units within the Western Nigeria Security Network, known as Amotekun.
This decision came about during a food security roundtable organized by the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission in Ibadan on Wednesday.
The move aims to address the severe food shortages in the region caused by widespread insecurity.
Following a directive from the Southwest Governors’ Forum, the Commission organized the meeting to devise a regional agricultural strategy.
All six governors were represented by their respective Commissioners for Agriculture, and it was agreed that the resolutions from the meeting would be diligently implemented.
The meeting’s attendees included Commissioners for Agriculture from Ekiti (represented by Mr. Ebenezer Boluwade), Ogun (Bolu Owotomo), Ondo (Olayato Aribo), Osun (Babatola Faseru), and Oyo (Olasunkanmi Olaleye), with Mr. Emmanuel Audu, the Permanent Secretary of Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, representing Lagos.
During the meeting, Dr. Seye Oyeleye, the Director General of the Commission, emphasized the need to dispel notions that the region has lost its agricultural capacity.
He urged participants to propose recommendations that state governors can readily implement in the coming months.
The resolutions from the meeting also included initiatives such as extensive land clearing, improved security measures, and the large-scale cultivation of short-term crops like maize, sweet potatoes, and vegetables.
Other plans involve revitalizing dormant dams for irrigation, enhancing mechanization throughout the agricultural value chain, adopting a cluster farming approach, expanding input distribution, and establishing an electronic agriculture database.
