The Southwest Commodity Farmers Organisation and Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission have synergised to improve food security in the region.
The synergy was announced by the commission’s chairman, Mr Seye Oyeleye, in a meeting held in Ibadan on Tuesday to identify and resolve farmers’ challenges in the region.
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Oyeleye said the collaboration aimed to bring as many agricultural associations under one roof and streamline their activities for achievable results.
He noted that the unified leadership would help harness benefits, unlike previous years when governments were uncertain of which organisations to engage.
“We aren’t competing; we want self-sufficiency.
“Food security requires teamwork, and I’m glad that at today’s meeting, there are more than 11 or 12 associations that have all agreed to come here and sit together,” he said.
He announced the upcoming Farmers General Assembly to make informed decisions for 2026 farming activities.
The President of the Southwest Commodity Farmers Organisation, Prince Olusegun Asaolu, emphasised the importance of consensus-building to improve agriculture.
“When you want to move forward, you must talk and agree,” he said.
Asaolu, however, said that issues of climate change call for concern, urging government support for irrigation and the supply of modern inputs to engage the youth.
He said that the South-West is blessed with earth dams and the River Basin Authority, thus calling for government intervention.
“Our governments need to develop these earth dams and synergise with the farmers so that they will be engaged, as it is happening in other places, throughout the year in producing food,” he said.
Meanwhile, a farmer from Osun, Gabriel Ogunsanya, sought prompt and urgent assistance from the government in the area of modern agricultural inputs and irrigation systems.
He observed that youths were not encouraged by the present archaic methods of agricultural practices.
Meanwhile, a farmer in Lagos State, Mrs Omotayo Ajoba, stated that farmers need to embrace irrigation to beat climate change.
She, therefore, called on the government at all levels in the region to consider the plights of farmers, particularly regarding irrigation. (NAN)
