Governor Abdulrahman-Abdulrazaq of Kwara
By LEKAN AGBOOLA, Ilorin –
Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has announced that the state will invest the sum of N2billion in agricultural sector in partnership with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), a platform of the African Union to advance economic growth on the continent.
Governor AbdulRazaq made this known at the weekend while launching a 10-year Agricultural Transformation Plan, which is designed to ensure food security, generate employment opportunities, and reduce poverty rate in the state.
“We are also working to ink an agreement with the Lagos State Government on food production, that Kwara would be investing some N2bn in the agricultural sector in partnership with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), a platform of the African Union to advance economic growth on the continent,” he said.
According to the governor, the plan is hinged in six pillars of crop production, finance, livestock, access to market, value chain, and cross-cutting programmes, the Governor said at the launch of the document in Ilorin, the state capital.
AbdulRazaq said the document comes with measurable milestones to ensure faithful implementations by all the stakeholders involved.
He said the programme “is a 10-year plan which is based on verifiable data gathered from field research and extensive consultations with various stakeholders and experts in the sector. The plan spells out the opportunities and challenges in the agricultural sector in the state, and identifies six pillars that are critical to the success of the plan,”.
The Governor added that the pillars are crop production, Finance, Livestock, access to market, value chain, and cross-cutting programmes. The document explains each of these pillars and the milestones to be reached in the course of its implementation.
AbdulRazaq explained that the plan also comes with detailed monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to constantly interrogate the journey while attention will also be paid to sustainability.
“The essence of this document is to ensure food security, attract investments to the sector, create jobs, reduce poverty, and create inclusive growth by giving equal opportunities for women and girls to also benefit from everything that this plan has to offer,” he said.
He thanked all the stakeholders, and partners and the team for the success of the work that the most challenging part is ensuring successful implementation of the plan to make Kwara food sufficient by 2030. Saying that it is achievable if everyone plays their part.