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The Lagos state government has expressed its readiness and determination to complete all abandoned projects at the Songhai Model of the Agricultural Youth Empowerment Scheme (Agric Yes) in Badagry area of the State.
According to a statement, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, commissioner of Agriculture disclosed this when he led a delegation from the state to inspect the facility.
Lawal noted that the Songhai Model of the Youth Empowerment Scheme is one of the major empowerment programmes in the agricultural sector for youths being implemented by the state.
He noted upon assumption of office in July, he commissioned the development of a roadmap with the theme ‘A Sustainable Inclusive Growth Strategy with the Citizens at the Core’ adding that one of the outcomes of that roadmap is the need to empower no fewer than 15,000 youths and women within the next four years.
He recalled that the Songhai model was a product of a collaboration between Lagos and the Songhai Regional Centre, Porto Novo, Benin Republic adding that the programme is geared towards encouraging organic farming and using simple biological methods to enhance production outputs.
“The model is based on new approaches and farming systems that rely heavily on the combined inputs from local experiences, indigenous technology, business communities, and research institutions.
The result is a robust, zero waste, integrated agro-allied model promoting rural growth through training, technology adaptation and strong business and commercialization strategy,” Lawal explained.
The commissioner pointed out that the objectives of the model include the need to train and create employment for youths, therefore, providing improved livelihood and reduce rural-urban migration as well as attain food sufficiency.
“Some of the objectives of the model are to reduce dependency on other states to supply the food and fiber to be consumed by Lagosians; to complement the productivity of the ageing farmers which could not sustain or move the state to a comfortable level of self-sufficiency in food production and to provide competitive inputs/raw materials for the Agro-Industry,” Lawal averred.
He listed other objectives as providing feedstock for renewable energy supply as it would be designed to become an energy source instead of an energy sink and to provide new environmental products and services- carbon sequestration, agroforestry, biodiversity, native seeds and germ plasma, medical plants among others.
He added that the entrepreneurial thinking associated with the Songhai project will help farmers to explore many of the state‘s under-developed and under-sold agricultural sector products stressing that the Songhai project is in tandem with the themes Developmental Agenda of Making Lagos a 21st century economy as it is about reducing bio-waste and using renewable resources to generate power and using modern technologies to drive agricultural development and creating employment.
He said the Songha model will promote a responsible farming system that supports the transfer of new technologies and access to markets just as it will also encourage farmers to become fully self-sufficient in energy by using sustainable resources.
