Lagos State government has concluded plans to unveil a landmark N500 billion agricultural programme, “Produce -for-Lagos,” initiative aimed at addressing food insecurity and ensuring long-term access to affordable, nutritious food across the state.
The commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, who revealed this at a press briefing yesterday ahead of its official launch scheduled for tomorrow, said the initiative was designed as a large-scale Off-Taker Programme.
According to her, the ‘Produce for Lagos’ initiative will focus on strengthening the state’s food supply chain through inter-state collaboration and strategic private sector investments.
Olusanya stated that, “The Produce for Lagos initiative represents our commitment to building resilient, sustainable food systems by leveraging inter-state collaboration and private sector investment.
“On Wednesday, we will launch the produce for Lagos optical guarantee fund, as well as the initiative, which is largely a collaboration between the Lagos State government under the leadership of Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the private sector.
“It is indeed possible to have a reorganised food system in Nigeria, and leading the market to production is a crucial beat that has been missing for so long.
“All of the intervention of most states and the federal government was usually tailored towards production, but the marketing end of it, and the distribution and logistics, are always left a bit wanting,
“We want to minimise pre-harvest loss. We want to ensure that with pre-harvest loss reduction, we will see a drop in food inflation, we will see a drop in health challenges, so it will be better for you and me.”
Olusanya said the programme aims to ensure the state’s residents’ self-sufficiency in food products and export food products to other states of the federation.
“To produce in Lagos, we are pushing to ensure that at least 40 per cent of what we need comes from within, but we need a bigger pie to fulfil the needs of our people. That is why the Produce for Lagos programme, which now focuses on up-country partnership, is crucial.
“We need access to more lands to be able to grow food for our people and we know that there are routes, there are farm, there are businesses in other states in Nigeria that are doing this on large commercial scale and to that, that partnership is crucial to our survival and their survival as well,’’ she said.
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