The Federal Government has been called upon to bridge the deficit found in the Agric sector, particularly in palm oil production in order to encourage investors to invest more in agriculture in the country.
David Olijogun, the Vice President of SAO Agro-Allied Services Limited, while speaking at a press conference on Monday in Akure, the Ondo State capital, said some investors had shown interest towards developing cold feet in bringing their money into agriculture.
Recall that hundreds of farmers on Sunday shut down the Legos/Ore expressway to protest against an alleged forceful takeover of their farms at the Oluwa Forest Reserve (OA3A) in Odigbo Local Government Area of the State by a private firm, SAO Agro-Allied Services Limited, in collaboration with the State Government.
According to the farmers, the private firm is allegedly owned by Ayo Sotinrin, the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), who was appointed in April by President Bola Tinubu.
But Olijogun, during the press conference, said the firm is not owned by land grabbers, saying they got the allocation of the land legally from the Ondo State Government and paid all necessary money.
Olijogun stated that the firm secured the Certificate of Occupancy(C-of-O) as far back as 2021.
He, however, disclosed that the Managing Director of Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Ayo Sotinrin has resigned from SAO Agro-Allied Services Ltd on April 7, 2025.
He explained that SAO Agro-Allied Services Ltd came to Ondo State to grow palm oil following the decision of the Federal Government to improve on oil palm production.
Buttressing Olijogun, the Chief Operating Officer of SAO Agro-Allied Services Ltd, Uthama Seelan Kandasamy said what the farmers at Oluwa Forest are doing has begun to scare intending investors from coming to the state.
While the Executive Secretary, Red Gold Forum, Henry Oladunjoye, blamed the Ondo State Internal Revenue Service (ODIRS) for the crisis in Oluwa Forest Reserve.
He alleged that officials of ODIRS were double-dealing as they collect tax from the major investors and still went behind to collect levies from the farmers who are illegal occupants of the forest reserve.
