Osun embarks on riverside farming

The Osun Government has begun farming activities at notable river sides in Osogbo to prevent the dumping of refuse into rivers and provide employment for youths.Dr Wole Alade, a Consultant on Environment to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, disclosed this when speaking with newsmen in Osogbo.Alade said that the initiative had been under experimentation for sometime at the Okooko riverside and would soon begin around Ogbaagba, Akepe, Odigun, Arungbo and Alekuwodo rivers.He said that the initiative also check the blocking of the waterways by residents.He said that no farmer would want anybody to cross his farm in an attempt to drop refuse inside the rivers.Alade, popularly called 'Baba Okooko' because of his commitment to sanitising the Okooko River, advised residents by the riversides to start cultivating the areas in order to boost food production.Among the crops he listed for cultivation were; vegetables, okro, pepper, tomatoes, garden eggs, ground nuts, maize and possibly cassava.The consultant, who retired from the University of Lagos as Environment Planner, warned that as long as people continued to block the drains, dredging exercises would always suffer a setback.He, therefore, urged residents of the riversides to desist from polluting the rivers as well as embarking on farming activities in the area to check flooding.
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