Thelma Farms, a major processor and exporter of vegetables, is a beneficiary of a strong agriculture policy drive of Ogun State government, according to Babatunde Ogunyemi, CEO of Thelma Farms Limited.
According to Ogunyemi, Ogun State government, led by Ibikunle Amosun, invited agro investors to come and acquire hectares of land in the state at a rebate.
“I didn’t take him seriously first, because I didn’t believe that government in Nigeria could be that serious then,” he said, at the Bank of Industry (BoI)’s programme on Channels Television.
“It later turned out to be a reality. And since then, government of the state has been so helpful,” he said.
Many investors in Nigeria do not take policy statements of various arms and agencies of governments seriously, because politicians over the years have failed to fulfil their promises.
However, agro investors and manufacturers say Ogun has supported them in many ways.
“They provide us with rebates on land and the doing business environment in the state is impressive. We are impressed with the state,” Frank Udemba Jacobs, president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), told BusinessDay in early 2016.
Thelma Farms is located at Ijebu-Ode area of Ogun State and it processes and packages vegetable products to many parts of the world.
“I still find it difficult to believe that BoI is still part of the government in Nigeria,” Ogunyemi said.
“The staff members of the BoI do not act like the typical government parastatal because they listen and help you to grow,” he said.
According to him, the development bank has so far supported him to grow as a foods exporter, stressing that he returned from abroad to invest in the agro-processing industry when he understood from international organisations that Africa would feed the world.
“I approached BoI during the tenure of Evelyn Oputu, and I was marvelled at the professionalism there. The lady who was handling my loan request kept calling me, asking me questions on areas she didn’t quite understand. I was later invited to make a presentation,” he explained.
He said the current leadership of Waheed Olagunju has supported Thelma Farms, as the acting CEO visits and proffers advice on the way forward, adding that most of the pieces of equipment used in his farm were acquired by the BoI.
He further stressed the need for Nigeria to take the issue of food security more seriously, saying that its threat in the country is real.
