To mark the 2026 World Food Day theme, “Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow,” Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun unveiled a comprehensive agricultural support package to boost local food production and empower 10,000 rice and cassava farmers across the state. Announced during celebrations at the June 12 Cultural Centre in Abeokuta, the initiative combines heavy machinery, subsidised farm inputs, and digital technology to modernise local farming practices and reduce overall production costs.
Under the rollout, 2,000 rice farmers are set to receive two bags of fertiliser, one bag of urea, and three litres of herbicide each, while 8,000 cassava farmers will receive identical fertiliser allocations alongside 25 bundles of cassava stems and 10 litres of herbicide. To further drive efficiency, the state distributed 10 tractors and specialised equipment to farm settlements and local agricultural cooperatives.
Additionally, 1,200 farmers were provided with Android smartphones pre-installed with dedicated applications that deliver real-time weather forecasts, current market prices, and best-practice agricultural guidance to sharpen their operational decisions.
Bolu Owotomo, State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, noted that the input program operates on a co-funding model where beneficiaries cover 30 per cent of the cost while the government subsidises the remaining 70 per cent through its partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
Highlighting his administration’s broader commitment to transforming agriculture into a tech-driven, commercial endeavour, Governor Abiodun outlined recent infrastructure milestones aimed at retaining economic value within the state. These include the completion of 28 processing, storage, and mechanisation projects over the past two years, anchored by a new poultry facility in Odeda Local Government Area capable of processing 1.3 million birds annually.
He also cited the ongoing success of the Ogun State Farmer Information Management System, which has logged over 160,000 sector participants to ensure targeted policy delivery, as well as youth empowerment partnerships that recently trained and equipped over 200 young adults in soilless farming techniques.
Keynote speaker Professor Kolawole Adebayo emphasised Ogun State’s strategic advantage in national food security, pointing to its 1.2 million hectares of arable land and close proximity to major commercial markets. Representatives from the Commodity Farmers Association of Nigeria, local farm settlements, and the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones Programme commended the state’s interventions, affirming that combining direct input subsidies with technology and equipment will help secure rural livelihoods while building a more resilient regional food network.
