Agriculture: Charles Folayan To Develop Agro Industry, Cashew Value Chain In Isin LG, When Elected
By Adedayo Said
The YPP House of Reps Candidate for the Irepodun/Isin/Ekiti/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency Charles Olufemi Folayan also known as Asoju Odo has announced his plan to develop Agro Industry for wealth creation and employment generation in his constituency.
Speaking yesterday at a meeting with YPP members in Isanlu Isin ward 1 and 2, Asoju Odo said his constituency is predominantly agrarian and most of her indigenes come from a long line of proud agrarians and farmers owing to the vast, fertile agrarian lands for Oil Palm, Cassava, Cashew, Maize and other cash crops.
However, there exists a huge knowledge and resource gap which has held back many of these farmers from growing their capacities and scaling up their agricultural endeavors.
He lamented that majority of farmers have no access to modern farming equipment which is an hinderance to their growth and expansion.
“It’s a matter of concern that majority of farmers in our constituency have no access to modern farming equipment, lack access to micro lending facilities, have little to no knowledge of mechanised farming and do not have the requisite training and or exposure to upscale their farming activities.
“This implies that there is little to no incentive or motivation to help many of these farmers evolve from small-scale subsistence farming to commercial farming
“It is for this reason and the ever-constant need to significantly grow the wealth base of my constituency that I have iterated in my manifesto a list of expansion and support plans to help boost the farming output of my constituency.
In his document presented, Charles Folayan highlighted his strategy to engage with the Central Bank, African Development Bank and other Financial Development Organisation, local and international alike to roll out Micro credit facilities in the mould of the NIRSAL/ Anchors Borrowers Programme to the farmers and also help with start-up capitals for young people to go into processing and packaging, thereby expanding the agro-allied value chain.
Work on building strategic partnership with local and international organisations such as the Bank of Agriculture, BOA, Bank of Industry, BOI, International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD, and others to provide technical and funding instruments and support for the mechanising agricultural practices in the constituency.
Set up agro-allied and business incubators which will provide among other things Capacity building trainings, financial literacy and Civility trainings to farmers to improve the quality of their endeavours in line with international best practices.
Purchase modern farming equipment and implement such as tractors, planters, harvesters and other necessary materials and set up a Systemised Hiring and Leasing Arrangement to farmers to help the adoption of mechanised form of farming and by this boost production outputs.
Establish Agriculture Product Processing Centres to focus on Agro-value chain especially on products commonly produced in the constituency such as cashew.
He added that such processing center would be sited at Isin local government to bolster production, trading, create jobs at such scale and level that will transform the commercial activities of the constituency. And also to grow the exporting capacities, expand the agro-value chain and build substance at the base of the aggregated wealth of the constituency.
Attached is the video of the proposed Asoju Odo Agro Processing Center.
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