Apparently worried by ravaging hunger across the country, Ijesa people in Osun State comprising six local government areas and six LCDAs have set machinery in motion to combat the menace.
The community has proactively keyed into the recent resolution of the governors in South West Nigeria to prioritise agriculture as a sustainable solution to achieving food security and the initiative of Governor Ademola Adeleke to roll out strategy to revolutionalise agriculture in the state.
The Ijesa Community Development Assembly (ICDA) initiated a strategic partnership between it and Leventis Foundation Nigeria School of Agriculture to train about 100 Youth in modern agricultural practices and agricpreneurship at the school in Ilesa, Osun State.
These 100 Youth enrollees who will be completing their full residential course in December 2024 will provide a veritable and solid foundation upon which the vision and mission of Osun State Government to revolutionalise agriculture would be laid.
Recently, ICDA under the leadership of the Asiwaju Of Ijesaland, Chief Olayinka Fasuyi convened the meeting of strategic stakeholders involving State Ministry of Agriculture; chairmen of LGAs in Ijesaland; representatives of traditional rulers; Leventis School of Agriculture; and paid a site evaluation visit to the Osun State Farm Settlement in Esa-Oke.
The joint visit of these key Stakeholders assisted the team to inspect the state of infrastructure at this 400- hectares farm settlement and took proactive measure to revitalise it.
Speaking during the visit Asiwaju Fasuyi reiterated the mission of the visit which is to join hands with the Osun State Government in restoring the infrastructure and facilities at the Farm Settlement to support the prompt realisation of the green revolution plans of the state government.
The Principal of Leventis Foundation Nigeria School of Agric, Dr Muhedeen Popoola enumerated the various technical services and support such as building demonstration centers within the farm settlement in addition to deploying Agriculture Extension Services Officers from the school as part of its corporate support to the take off of the farm settlement.
The Local Govt Chairmen pledged their readiness to deploy material and financial resources to the realisation of optimising the potentials of the farm settlement.
It was further canvassed that the Farm Settlement be divided among the local governments in order to allow them compete in optimal utilisation and resultant food sufficiency production for Ijesaland, Osun State, and Nigeria, at large.
The Elegboro of Ijebu-jesa, Oba Agunsoye responded to the security challenges being faced by the Settlers and assured them that the Traditional Institutions in Ijesaland shall continue to work round the clock in supporting the State Government to strengthen the security architecture of the settlement especially from the herders.
