Lagos urges increased subsistence farming, distributes inputs to 10,000 farmers

• Approximately 10,000 farmers, including those in fisheries, aquaculture, poultry, piggery, and vegetable farming, benefited from the fourth cycle of input distribution
  

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The Lagos State Government has called on residents to engage more actively in subsistence farming as a strategy for self-sufficiency, job creation, and food security.

The State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Abisola Olusanya, made this appeal during the distribution of agricultural inputs and productive assets to beneficiaries in the Oko-Oba area of Agege.

According to a statement issued on Thursday, approximately 10,000 farmers, including those in fisheries, aquaculture, poultry, piggery, and vegetable farming, benefited from the fourth cycle of input distribution under the COVID-19 Action Recovery Scheme, a partnership between the federal and state governments and the World Bank.

Olusanya highlighted that farmers receiving the inputs are expected to supply produce for the upcoming 25 percent discount Sunday Market in the state, emphasizing the program’s role in bolstering food availability and affordability.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Emmanuel Audu, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture and Food Systems, Dr. Oluwarotimi Fashola, urged farmers to use the inputs wisely to enhance productivity. Jonathan Obayemi, the State Project Coordinator for Lagos CARES Result Area 2, expressed gratitude for the governor’s swift approval of the inputs.

Among the distributed inputs were 32,750 fish juveniles, 4,740 bags of poultry feed, 61,500 day-old chicks, 1,004 bags of fertilizer, 596 kilos of vegetable seeds, 2,198 fishing nets, 72 canoes, 351 liters of agrochemicals, and 25 water tanks.

In related news, the wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, announced the final selection of 200 participants for the “Every Home A Garden” nationwide farming competition for female first-time farmers. The initiative, organized by the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, offers a N20 million prize to the winner and aims to encourage women’s participation in agriculture.