Probably driven by the words of the now-jettisoned National Anthem, Arise O Compatriots, that the labour of the heroes past shall never be in vain, Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, in his policy document, Oyo State Roadmap for Accelerated Development, 2019-2023, made clear his ambition to revive and upgrade the Fasola Farm Estate, which had been allowed to become moribund by successive administrations in the state.
Established around the 1950s, the farm estate was reportedly designed as an agriculture centre with a vast expanse of lands running into thousands of hectares completed with then-state-of-the-art facilities.
The estate, according to a former Nigeria’s President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, served as the nerve centre of the rich agriculture heritage of Southern Nigeria and later South-West geopolitical zone. But all that rich history and glory became a thing of the past in the hands of successive military and civilian administrations that held sway in Oyo State, while the South-West also lost its hold as an agriculture base of the country.
It was amid that sordid loss, growing food insecurity and a gloomy future in the agriculture sector that Mr Seyi Makinde campaigned to become governor in 2018/2019, declaring without mincing words that he would bring back the glorious days of Fasola Farm and the agricultural prowess of Oyo State.
Tucked between Oyo and Iseyin across two zones of the state, the Fasola Farm had always been a world of its own, with an expansive fence and unending greenery sited on many kilometres of land; only that it had become a lost world abandoned by administrations that only paid lip service to agriculture revolution.
The facility, however, breathed fresh air upon the election of Governor Makinde, who had defined appropriately what the role of government should be in agriculture and how agriculture should be done in the 21st century.
In explaining the motive underpinning his administration’s decision to revive Fasola, Governor Makinde explained that upon his assumption of office, he investigated the place of Oyo State in the agriculture sector and found out that many bogus claims were being made about the achievements of the state in that sector. The governor made a particular reference to how he had discovered that though the state had a comparative advantage in cassava production, the position had been more of a happenstance than a conscious effort. He had then decided that in order to achieve the vision of an Oyo State with an expanded economy, the state must move from just providing erratic supports to peasant farming to emplacing sound policies, programmes and the right environment for mechanised farming and what is now renowned as agribusiness.
The resolve to espouse agribusiness while not abandoning support to smallholder farmers, who are in the majority in Oyo State, Makinde explained, led his administration to take its first step in resurrecting Fasola Farm Estate and upgrading it into what is now known as Fasola Agribusiness Industrial Hub.
In fulfillment of the governor’s vision, no sooner had the state made the bold move to revive Fasola than life began to return to the facility, with several companies with interest in cassava production, maize farming, soybean farming, cowpea farming, tomato production, banana production and dairy farming subscribing to the facility, where the state government had invested by building road infrastructure, factories, warehouses and other structures.
Addressing how the state was able to attract private sector players into the Hub, who now have investments running into about N11 billion with attendant benefits to the state including increased revenue, job creation and increased crop production, the Director-General of the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency and Executive Adviser to the Governor on Agribusiness, Dr Debo Akande, said the state only used its resources to build Fasola so as to make it become attractive to the private sector. He explained further that these companies can engage in massive industrial agriculture, produce food for the massive population and also bring revenues for government to develop all other segments of the society.
Justifying Akande’s position, an agriculturist and mechanised farmer in Ado Awaye, Iseyin North Local Government, Mr Charles Olusegun, said the mistake many people make about government and agriculture is that they fail to realise that government’s place is not to cultivate lands but to create a conducive environment for private players in the sector and set up the right policies to enable them to thrive.
Dr Akande, in explaining the efforts of the state government on Fasola Agribusiness Hub, said: “We use the state’s resources to bring this place up to speed, build infrastructure and structures so that it becomes attractive to the private sector. I can say it openly that what the private sector has brought in here is more than one hundred per cent of the investments we put in here as a state. For example, if what we have invested here is N1b, what you are finding here is around N2b or N2.5bn in terms of the investment they have brought in.
“All we did was that we built all these structures on two hectares of land. We did an analysis on the space of land that is required for a factory. And for every single one that has been built, we requested for companies to come and take, and now we have about 11 companies that are here. Two of them are going to be processing cashew while two would be processing cassava. Two of them are working on dairy production and one of them is working on dairy and vegetable as well.
“The import of the 11 companies already engaging in agriculture practices inside Fasola and the implication of that for the economy of the state, food security and employment are noteworthy,” Akande added.
Records made available by OYSADA showed that the 11 companies and their investments in Fasola are as follows; Friesland Campina WAMCO Ltd engaging in milk, dairy, livestock rearing, vegetable production and crop cultivation, 200 Hectares; IITA BIP Go Seed Ltd engaging in Early Generation See Cassava, Soybeans, Cowpea and Maize, 100 Hectares; Oyo State Sugarcane Association engaging in Sugarcane production, 20 Hectares; Milkin Barn Ltd engaging in milk, dairy, livestock rearing, vegetable production and crop cultivation, 150 Hectares; Brown Hill Farm Ltd engaging in Vegetable Greenhouse and Plantain Cultivation, 30 Hectares.
Others are E4 Farms and Foods Ltd engaging in milk, dairy, livestock rearing, vegetable production and crop cultivation, 40 Hectares; Agridrive Nig. Ltd engaging in agricultural equipment leasing, 1 Hectare; African Agricultural Tech Foundation engaging in cassava processing, 1 Hectare; Zigma Ltd. engaging in cashew plantation, 37 Hectares; Flash Agro Farm, engaging in cashew processing, 1 Hectare and Trolid International Ltd. engaging in vegetable and spice processing, 1 Hectare.
Explaining how the companies’ productions will change the game in food security in Oyo State in the not-too-distant time, Akande stated that 200 hectares of maize were cultivated and harvested in the Hub in 2023 and another 200 hectares have been cultivated in 2024. He added that 100 hectares of cassava including early generated planting material that will guarantee 15 to 20 tons per hectares for farmers in the state have also been planted, while also noting that tomatoes, plantains, soybeans and cowpeas are also being produced in large quantity.
“Inside the hub, 200 hectares of maize were cultivated last year, and the same amount has been cultivated this year. It is in there for all to see. 100,000 hectares of cassava including early generated planting materials. These early generated planting materials matter a lot; that is where farmers in Oyo State will begin to get stems to plant that can guarantee them higher yields in their farms. If you are having two tons per hectare before, these materials will give you between 15 to 20 tons per hectares.
“Tomatoes are being harvested inside the hub. Plantation of plantains is being cultivated inside Fasola. Soybeans and cowpeas have been harvested inside the farm.
“Fasola Hub supplied 10,000 cassava stems to N-CARES to support smallholder farmers across Oyo State a few months ago. That is a major benefit to Oyo State, and it will be a game-changer in the food sector in Oyo State. The beneficiaries of the cassava stems, rather than have a yield of between seven to eight tons per hectares, they will start having 15 to 20 tons per hectares of different varieties, which means that the production of the state will be increasing on the same land without increasing lands,” the OYSADA DG added, calling on residents of the state to wait and see the results of the ongoing revolution, which he noted, will come in no distant time.
Also explaining the benefits of the early generation cassava materials to farmers across the state and the implication it will have on food production in the near future, Mercy Diebiru-Ojo, the Seeds Systems Specialist, IITA BIP GOSEED, said: “IITA GoSeed is an early generation seed company that cultivates improved varieties that have come out of a technology known as the semi-autotrophic hydroponics and we have brought them to the Fasola Agribusiness Hub to set up a seed production field and we have a representation of the improved varieties.
“Farmers have tested and alluded to the fact that these varieties will help increase the productivity and improve their livelihoods.”
Also speaking, some of the companies operating inside Fasola said that apart from business, they also have the interest to improve food security in Oyo State. They lauded the state government for providing the right atmosphere for the private sector to play in the state’s agriculture sector.
Mr John Adekunle, Head, Dairy Development, Friesland Campina, WAMCO, said the agribusiness policy of Governor Makinde has been working, even as he lauded the state government for providing the right infrastructure to drive the public-private partnership and investments in agribusiness.
He noted that already, out of the 30 milk collection points in Nigeria, Oyo State hosts 15.
Adekunle said: “No investor will go into a place that is not safe; no investor will go into a place without good roads. These are elements that the government is putting in place and I believe that if the government follows through with this way of working, where the hub has everything that you want to use either as a dairy farmer or crop farmer, then you will see a lot more investors coming in there. They will know that their property will be safe, and they can go in that dimension. We can multiply this in many states of the country.
Similarly, Mr Tony Jibunoh, CEO Milkin Barn AgriServe Ltd, said: “I have always known personally that government has no business in business. So, the state has graciously given us 1,500 hectares of land where we want to now build our main farm. Here, we started out as a pilot, but it has also grown from 100 hectares and 100 animals to 400 hectares and 300 animals. The Fasola Agribusiness Hub is a model that has worked and should be replicated across board.”
The OYSADA Director-General also explained that the cumulative investments of the private sector in the Hub are over N11 billion, and it is expected to grow to N20 billion within the next one year, adding that the state has already recouped about 20 per cent of its investment before the commissioning of the facility.
Akande also noted that contrary to widespread claims that the state has done nothing to support agriculture; its policies on the sector have been paying off with increased production.
He maintained that statistics from the Federal Government under former President Muhammadu Buhari and a recent commendation by Vice-President Kashim Shettima should be enough to convince naysayers.
According to him, a breakdown of the annual land cultivated and the annual primary crop production from the Federal Government showed that there was a geometric progression in Oyo State between 2019 and 2022, an indication that Makinde has fared better than his predecessors in the agriculture sector.
He also noted that the World Bank and Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, through the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) recently attested to the fact that Fasola Agribusiness Hub has become a resounding success, when it hailed Governor Makinde commitment towards enhancing livestock production in the state.
He said: “At the commissioning of the Alao-Akala Highway, Ogbomoso, when the Vice-President, Senator Kashim Shettima, speaking on behalf of the president, said that having seen the achievements of Governor Makinde in the area of agribusiness; the Federal Government is ready to support Oyo State.
“The World Bank came to Oyo State with 16 other states under the L-PRES. The model we use in Oyo State has been recommended for other states in Nigeria by the World Bank.
“Today, if Oyo State is not the largest cassava producing state, then it should be the second and that is by virtue of the policies, programmes and the approach we have adopted in the state. From 2016 to 2018, Oyo State under the APC did 63,000 metric tons of soya beans, but between 2019 and 2021, we did 89,000 metric tons. From 2016 to 2018, the state did 3.8 metric tons of yam but from 2019 to 2021, we did 4.6 metric tons of yam. From 2016 to 2018, the state did 837,000 metric tons of maize but from2019 to 2021, we did 936,067 metric tons of maize despite COVID-19. This is a huge difference, and these statistics are not from the Oyo State Government.”
Corroborating Akande’s positions, Mr Olusegun said, “I have read all the blames being pinned on the governor over food price hike and food insecurity in the state. These criticisms are unfounded but most of those behind it are not farmers. I can testify to it that Oyo State has really improved in cassava production, so if Garri is expensive, the question we should ask is where are the private individuals who can make a business out of turning the massive cassava being produced into garri or are we saying that the government should start frying garri?
“If you say the government has not done anything to improve agriculture and that is why there is food insecurity, then that is not correct. The hike in food prices cannot be solved by a single state. It is a national thing. In fact, if at all, we must commend the Makinde administration, though there is still room for improvement.
“The government’s efforts on agribusiness have brought Fasola back to life and inside that place, there are many opportunities for farmers, who are aware of the opportunities. I have been working on how I can get improved cassava stems from within the Hub, and I also know that the cassava stems supplied to some farmers across the 33 local governments as palliatives were from Fasola. Though I was not a beneficiary, I would be lying if I say that farmers didn’t get any support from the government.
“Will all these supports and the building of Fasola put food on the people’s tables immediately and crash food prices, no. It is a gradual process, and I am sure that in the end, Oyo State will be the better for the efforts.
“I, however, want to encourage government to make more information available on the tractorisation policy, which will see the state government pay half of the cost for ploughing per acre. I am sure that once more farmers benefit from this, the view about Governor Makinde not supporting agriculture will stop to gain ground.”
With Fasola already a success story despite the hoopla being created by critics, Governor Makinde has maintained that the commitment to revolutionising agriculture in the state will continue to be pursued with vigour and zeal, even as he has declared that the Fasola magic will be deployed to resuscitate the moribund Eruwa Farm Estate.
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