Kashim Shettima, Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank (AfDB) and Seyi Makinde, Governor of Oyo State, at the weekend, laid the foundation for the Oyo State Agribusiness Industrial Hub, Ijaiye, under the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone.
The hub is expected provide employment for over 100,000 people and support the livelihood of more than 500,000 farmers, transforming them from peasantry to medium and large scale farmers.
Shettima, who was represented by Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security and Akinwunmi Adesina lauded Governor Makinde for his unwavering commitment and dedication to the development of Oyo State through agriculture and food security.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony held at Atan Village, Ijaiye, Akinyele Local Government, Kyari, while delivering the message of Vice-President Shettima, said the project would unlock vast potentials and create opportunities for Oyo State residents.
He stressed that the project would also serve as a strategic partnership between the State, other States of the Federation and the Federal Government.
Nigeria’s future as a country, he pointed out , lies in transforming agriculture and agribusiness resources into value-added products that would enhance industries, generate employment and uplift the farmers.
The Vice-President assured that the Federal Government would support Oyo State to become a productive sector and to achieve its full potentials as an agriculture hub in the country, appreciating the development partners and stakeholders for their support in laying the foundation for an agro-industrial hub in the State.
In his address, Governor Makinde, said the Ijaiye Agribusiness Industrial Hub would serve as a clear commitment to delivering on the Oyo State Roadmap for Sustainable Development, 2023-2027, in the area of repositioning agriculture as a commercial force creating jobs for youths, attracting investors and sustaining the economy of the state.
The governor, who noted that the building of agro-industrial hubs started from Fasola in Oyo Zone to Eruwa in Ibarapa zone, assured that before the expiration of his tenure in 2027, he would design and hand over the designs of other agro-industrial hubs in Ipapo, Ilora and Iresa-Adu.
Stressing the importance of the agribusiness hubs, the governor reckoned that the Fasola Agro-Industrial Hub had changed the local economy of the State from poverty to prosperity, charging the people of Ijaiye community to embrace and support the project.
He equally expressed the confidence that the new agribusiness hub in Ijaiye would also be a success story like that of the Fasola Agribusiness Hub.
He appreciated the AfDB and Adesina under whose leadership the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone initiative saw the light of the day, while he also lauded the Federal Government, technical partners, and all stakeholders who played a role in making the Ijaiye SAPZ a reality as well as communities that welcomed the project with open hands.
He said, “Today is about promises kept. When we launched the Oyo State Roadmap for Sustainable Development, 2023-2027, we made a clear commitment to reposition agriculture as a centre piece of our economic transformation, not as a subsistence activity, but as a commercial force for creating jobs, attracting investments, and securing food systems. This is a groundbreaking event.
“I have 22 months to go. Dr. Adesina has one month basically or maybe 30 days. No matter what, when you are being sworn in, one day it will end. But, because we don’t want to shortchange the people of Oyo State, we’ll continue to serve them until the last hour of the last day in office.
“So, this groundbreaking of this special agro-industrial processing hub at Atan-Ijaiye is a strategic step on that journey of sustainable development.
“This is a major economic lift to our state, to our farmers, to our environment, and to our youths. Opportunity is knocking, and this time, it is local. So, let today’s event be a reminder to every citizen of our state that governance is not theory; it is action, and when we say we will deliver, we mean it.
“This is not our first special agro-processing zone. We began in Fasola in the Oyo zone. Right now, we have 12 agribusinesses already operational. We moved to Eruwa in Ibarapa zone.
“We’ve been to the Oyo zone. We’ve been to Ibarapa zone. Now, we’re in Ibadan zone. This is Ijaiye. We are ensuring that the benefits of agribusiness development reach every region of our State.
“Well, let me also say this. We identified six old farm settlements established during the Western Region days. Then, the people had vision. They never thought about federal allocation; they were looking at productivity in their local environment.
“Where we are today was acquired back then, and the size they acquired was 12,000 hectares of land. For us today, we’re only developing 3,000 out of that 12,000. Out of the 3,000 hectares, the industrialised parts there will only be 300 hectares.
“In Fasola, we have broken the back. Eruwa, we have broken the back. As for Ijaiye, we are breaking the back right now. We have three other farm settlements, which are Ilora, Iresa-Adu and Ipapo. We will design them and hand them over to the next administration so that the development will go around the geopolitical zones in the State.”
