Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun
By Tony Folarin
The Ogun State government in line with the Bola Tinubu administration mission to deepen food security, curb hunger and foster self-sufficiency in food production has embarked on ambitious but highly successful rice farming in a way that could result in the state satisfying the rice needs of the nation if the efforts are sustained.
Though there have been controversies around Ogun State rice production fostered by some media reports; NATIONAL WAVES’s findings have revealed underreported milestones the state has achieved in this regard, but owing to media-shy approach which the state government has adopted in partnership with Alubarika Cluster farmers; much of this remains unreported.
This OGSTEP intervention support to 200 hectares rice farm for Alubarika is billed to be a pilot scheme to make Ogun State the food basket of the nation.
The 200-hectare rice farm is located at Magboro Community in Obafemi-Owode LGA. The rice farm according to residents of the community who spoke with NATIONAL WAVES has been an important agricultural intervention in the area and the state in general.
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Ayodele Abiodun, a resident told this medium that the youths who dominated the rice cluster are one of the clusters aggregated and formed as part of the beneficiaries on the OGSTEP intervention. This crop of youths had prior to the intervention been faced with challenges related to labour intensity, low productivity, and inefficient practices.
‘’The OGSTSEP Agric Sector intervention has given holistic support aimed changing the farm’s operations and by extension the livelihoods of the beneficiaries. These included providing mechanization support for Alubarika cluster, a significant benefit from the modern mechanization services covering land preparation all through to harvest’’, Adunni Ojo, an agronomist told NATIONAL WAVES
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‘’There has been a swelter of smear campaign to discredit Ogun State government on the matter’’, Dr. Samuel Medubi , an agricultural engineer told this medium , saying that there was a story which tended to portray the 200-hectare rice farm as a private initiative without the support of the state government. Contrary to the general impression created in the mind of the public that the Ogun State Government has begun the sale of about 20,000 bags of rice with the harvest of a 200-hectare rice farm at Magboro in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area, the initiative has no input of the Ogun State,’’ But Medubi who referred this reporter to the preceding quote said there was no iota of truth in saying the state has no input in the scheme, emphasizing that though initially a private initiative; government’s input has major, which is the reason for its huge success.
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NATIONAL WAVES’ investigations revealed that the project was initially a private idea of Nigerian businessman and farmer from Kebbi State who is currently a Senior Special Adviser to the Kebbi State Government, Alhaji Bello Zabarmawa. But the input of the Dapo Abiodun-led administration has transformed the project into a huge success by ensuring more farmers come on board to form clusters. In August, the Ogun State Government flagged off rice harvest from an initial cluster of 200 hectares of farmland.
Medubi said, “Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, kicked off the harvest in August and highlighted the state’s achievement of a milestone in becoming a rice-producing state.
“The Ogun State rice production effort is driven by the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project and supported by the World Bank to stimulate economic growth and development, according to Hon. Kayode Akinmade, the Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Media and Strategy.
“Abiodun hailed the achievement of producing locally grown rice as placing Ogun State on par with other rice-producing states including Lagos, Kebbi, and Bayelsa, and a developmental step towards food security, creation of employment opportunities, and improving the livelihoods of residents within the state”, a national daily had reported.
‘’In just three months, we are already harvesting, making this a three-month cycle, which means we can do this three times a year.
“With an efficiency yield of about 70 per cent, the rice farm could result in approximately 20,000 bags of milled rice per cycle, valued at around N1billion and if replicated three times annually, the project could generate N3bn in revenue.
“In this place, I have 12,500 hectares of land, and all we have farmed is 200 hectares that yielded N1 billion for 200 farmers. From here, I can feed the rest of the country. We will scale up this project immediately from 200 to 2,000 hectares and generate N30bn in revenue.
“This brings us closer to making Ogun State the food basket of the nation.” said Governor Abiodun.
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The governor stated that the project was in consonant with President Bola Tinubu’s determination to do away with poverty and hunger by providing affordable food to Nigerians, adding that the project, apart from increasing rice production, would engender prosperity in animal husbandry.
He said that OGSTEP Agricultural Sector Intervention will render vital support, including advanced agricultural techniques, access to quality seeds, modern irrigation systems, and technical training for farmers, adding that the approach is offered to beneficiaries at a 65 per cent discount on the cost for each mechanized operation.
This medium learnt that Alhaji Zabarmawa was behind the initiative before the Ogun State Government came on board.
According to investigation, one Haruna started farming at the site in 2019 and having seen how good the land was contacted his boss Alhaji Zabarmawa who came to Ogun State to invest before he approached the Ogun State Government for support.
A source hinted that ‘’Zabarmawa visited and became enamoured of the land. He decided to cultivate a large portion and called on people around who needed employment opportunities, gave them money and mobilised logistics to begin rice farming.
Haruna who confide in a news daily said , “I’m the manager of the farm. We are in Ogun State for rice farming. I started rice farming about five years ago in 2019. When I started farming and discovered that the land was very good, I went to meet our oga, Alh Bello and I told him that we have a very good land here. He said where, I said in Ogun State. He said he would come and see the place. That was how we started farming it together. The commissioner has come here twice. When the governor also came, he promised to support what we were doing. He even promised to do the Magboro Road down to Makogi. We are expecting that. Government cannot forget us.” Haruna said.
Zabarmawa, it was learnt organized 200 farmers and gave those without capital a zero-interest loan to farm one hectare of rice each. They established large farms in Makogi and the Gas line.
He was said to have hired bulldozers to clear the land of trees, stumps and silts for all the farmers. When the challenge became daunting, he was advised to seek assistance from the Ogun State Government which intervened via the OGSTSEP Agric Sector intervention and provided comprehensive support aimed at transforming the farm’s operations and by extension the livelihoods of the beneficiaries.
While throwing more light on how the rice farming started before he got the Ogun State intervention, Zabarmawa said he got 220 hectares of land on lease at the sum N6million and then went to Young Service Grow for proper documentation to begin rice cultivation.
He was advised to be under an established name ‘Alubarika Farm’ to get him linked up with the Ogun government.
It was when he linked up with Abiodun government that the project got a massive boast and with huge input from the state in form of funds and logistic the project became a success.
According to him, the Ogun State Government saw the nobility of the project and decided to support him with clearing of the farmland, supply of fertilizers and other logistics. In fulfilment of this, he said, the government paid 50% of the clearing expenses and 50% of fertilizer costs during planting.
A source added that the Ogun State Governor and Commissioner for Agric visited the farms to see what the farmers were doing and promised more assistance.
Abu Garba a farmer with Albarika and who was a Bureau de Change operator, before venturing in to rice farming praised the Ogun State Government and Zabarmawa’s large-heartedness and philanthropic inclination. He said Bello gave him N5m to start the rice farming at Magboro. He added that he had harvested 500 bags of rice so far. He was among a handful farmers who praised the contribution of the state government in making the project which has now become the pride of Ogun state’s rice farming on a mega scale.
Zabarmawa himself in a rare chat with a news daily said, “When I started, the Ogun State Government promised and paid 50% of the clearing cost why I paid the balance,” adding that the government paid half of the fertilizer cost.
“That time I was buying a bag of fertilizer for N45,000, I paid N23,000, government paid the remaining N22,000.
“I cannot forget the support government gave me at the time because if you are doing something and government gets interested and supports you, it’s a great achievement.
“There was a time I wanted to harvest, the governor himself came here. The Commissioner has been here twice. It was the governor who flagged off the harvest. I was very happy that day.
Abiodun government has organized training for members of the cluster, many of them have also benefitted from top-notch capacity building sessions provided or by the Value Chain Development Firm (VCDF) that aggregated and facilitated their linkage with all desired service providers.
Among numerous trainings received include Good Agricultural Practices on rice plantations; Farm Records and Book Keeping, Climate Smart Agriculture Practices, Business Plan Development Group Dynamics etc. ensuring effective use and sustainability of the Cluster.
Government also made available received high premium agro-inputs at 50% cost. These inputs include high-yield and disease-resistant rice varieties seeds, as well as access to quality fertilizers and environmentally friendly pest control products; enhancing crop growth and yield as well as increased income.
