By Ogalla Daniel
Kogi State is poised to become the central hub of food production in Nigeria by 2025.
The state Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon Timothy Ojomah, disclosed this shortly after defending the Ministry’s 2025 budget, at the state House of Assembly.
According to the state Commissione, the ambitious goal is backed by the state’s remarkable success in food production in 2024, despite challenges posed by flooding in some areas.
To achieve this goal, the government, he said, plans to continue providing support to farmers, including farm inputs and other necessary resources.
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Hon. Ojomah highlighted the state’s existing strengths in cassava and cashew production, noting that Kogi State, already produces more cassava than any other state in Nigeria and has produced the highest quantity of cashew in the country.
The state government has also mapped out farmlands across the state for intervention programs aimed at increasing agricultural production.
This initiative includes the cultivation of rice, maize, and cassava on over 10,000 hectares of land. With these efforts, the state is on its way to becoming a leading food producer in Nigeria.
According to him, “Kogi State is producing more cassava than any other state in the country. It’s equally on record that Kogi State produced the highest quantity of cashew in Nigeria. Several persons have been coming to Kogi State to purchase our agricultural product which is a welcome development.
“We might look at it as if it is a big disadvantage to the State, but it’s an advantage because, we are creating more economic value for our people as they will be empowered economically.
“As Kogi State is producing more agricultural product, it is creating an enabling environment for people to come and buy from us which will increase our Gross Domestic Product, (GDP).
“The Ministry projection in 2025 is that, Kogi State will serve as the biggest in food production for the entire nation, including Africa as a continent. The present administration is committed to expand our production scale from the existing 10,000 hectares of land to about 50,000.
“The plan of the Government is to ensure that all necessary machineries are put in place to support full mechanization. One of it is the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL). It’s a World Bank project that Kogi State is benefiting from.
“As we speak, ACReSAL is going to provide enough earth moving machines such as bulldozer, tractors, excavators, and many more that will support agricultural activities in the state”.
Ojomah recalled that the State Government had recently purchased tractors, bulldozers to encourage mechanized farming in the state. Adding that, plans are under way to refurbish machines that are down.
It would be recalled that the members of the Kogi State House of Assembly had commended the Commissioner for Agriculture for his good work in the State.
