Kunle Adelabu
In a bid to boost food production in Lagos East Senatorial District, Senator Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru, FCA , has facilitated farm inputs, containing fertilisers, seedlings and herbicides, for over three hundred local farmers in the agrarian communities of the district for the planting season.
The farm inputs were provided by the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), through the intervention of the Senator.
The empowerment is one in the series of agric-focused direct interventions targeted at livestock and crop farmers in majorly agricultural communities of Ikorodu, Epe, and Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Areas, under the Lagos East Senatorial District.
It would be recalled that in November, 2023, over 100 livestock farmers received fully vaccinated chickens, feeds and cages to scale up their poultry business, after receiving training from experts on how to nurture their birds, reduce mortality and make it big in the poultry business.
Sen. Abiru, at the presentation, expressed profound gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for his far-reaching, bold reforms across sectors of the economy, particularly agriculture, which is geared at ensuring national food production and security.
He was represented at the presentation ceremony by his media aide, Mr. Enitan Olukotun who stated that the support for the farmers, which is aimed at boosting food production, is not the first by the Senator.
“In June 2022, in Epe Local Government, Senator Abiru provided hand planters and grants to over 200 rural farmers and also empowered over 1,250 market women. In 2023, 250 farmers also received MPK fertilisers facilitated by the Senator. In the same vein, over 700 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) owners benefitted from the SMEDAN MSMEs Grants and empowerment he facilitated ‘’, he added.
According to Olukotun, Senator Abiru has impacted the people of Lagos East in various remarkable ways, reeling out his impressive scorecard in the areas of Agric, support for MSMEs, facilitation of construction of schools, mini-stadia, markets, electricity transformers, road construction and rehabilitation, water projects across the entire Senatorial district and the establishment of the one of its kind Innovation labs in the country, the SAIL Innovation Lab.
In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer/ Executive Secretary, Prince Paul Ikone, represented by the agency’s Information Communications Technology, ICT Director, Mr. Chima Onuha said the partnership with Senator Abiru, is in accordance with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on agriculture development and food security.
One of the beneficiaries of the fertiliser, Owolabi Odulaja, thanked Senator Abiru for fulfilling promises he made to them.
” The initiative will help the people to tackle poverty. We thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, NALDA and Senator Tokunbo Abiru for this great support at this challenging economic period”.
Prominent stakeholders in the agric sectors and political leaders who extolled Senator Abiru’s efforts at ensuring food security, included Dr. Hakeem Adetugbobo, Apostle Victor Odunsi, Alhaji Rilwan Ishola Jinadu, Alhaja Sheifat Abiodun Ogunniyi, Alhaji Sulaimon Musiliu Adewale (Ola-four), South West Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Otunba (Dr.) Femi Oke, among others.
