THE Agbekoya Farmers Association said it has plans to embark onN1.5 billion commercial farming projects innine states in the next five years.The National Publicity Secretary of the association, Chief Olatunji Bandele, disclosed this in a statement issued in Lagos, on Wednesday.He said that the projects would be sited in some states in the South-West zone, Kogi, Edo and Kwara.Bandele said that the projects would involve the cultivation of 45,000 hectares of cash crops like cassava, maize, sorghum, yam, rice, beans, oil palm and pepper.'Agbekoya has already identified local markets and international bulk buyers for some of these crops,' he said.He said thatthe projects would involve the purchase of modern agricultural equipment like tractors, plough, riggers, planters, harvesters, bulldozers and trucks.'The project was initiated to transform the agricultural sector of the economy as part of the association's contribution to national development and production of food for the consumption of Nigerians and for export.'This newly rebranded Agbekoya Farmers Association is now poised with a new mindset of not just a pressure group. But a productive entity and upgraded group that has the consciousness of its role in the scheme of national affairs, especially agriculture.'Our mission statement is to be a hub of intermediate for the Nigerian agricultural sector for a sustainable commercial farming practice. Also, it is to strike a balance between the economic needs, rural prosperity and development with preservation of the environment,' he said.According to him, the agro-input centres and farmers markets would be established across the local government areas, just as the farmers would have access to soft loans at low interest rates over a period of five to seven years.He urged the Federal and State Governments, international agencies and agricultural development banks to partner with the association, in order to provide employment for millions of Nigerians, besides feeding the teeming Nigerian population.Bandele said that the association, being an offshoot of Agbekoya Society, had a population of over 25,000 farmers across the South-West.It was registered as the Nigerian Union of Farmers and Hunters in 1938.Meanwhile, a top official ofActionAid International, Jasper Lauridsen, has urged theFederal Government to prioritise its developmental needs byinvesting in sustainable agriculture and greenenergy.Lauridsen,a specialist on Innovative National Development Strategy, made the call on Wednesday, in Abuja at stakeholders consultative forum organised by ActionAid Nigeria.According to News Agency of Nigeria, he said that for Nigeria to attain its goal of being one of the world's best economies by year2020, the government needed to refocus onagriculture and the environment.'For self-reliant growth of Nigeria, the government must engage in stimulus spending for low carbon development, investment in sustainable agriculture, green energy and provide green jobs.'It (government) must focus on reducing deforestation, multipletaxation and also concentrate efforts on mitigating the effects of climate change,'' he said.Lauridsen also citeduniversal access to public health, education, social justice and employment opportunities with good benefits, as requirements for manpower development.'We need to come up with multiple alternatives to face financial, economic, food, and social crisis caused by the traditional model and practices of governance.'Fair employment, decent work and fair wages, using the international labour standards for wages, commissions and benefits must be considered.'Also, social protection and the need to promote women's rights, by engaging women in policy making decisions and decent work contracts with benefits are necessary,' he added.
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