FEDPOFFA to Partner Kwara Govt, NALDA on Cultivation of 5000 Hectares of arable land

… Ministry of Agric on the verge of giving technical support to establish integrated farm estate in the Polytechnic community

…Commissioner lauded the Management’s agrarian initiatives

… Rector, Dr. Kadiri: an Agricultural Revolution in view

In a significant stride towards sustainable agricultural practices to boost food security and increase its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) drive, the Management of the Federal Polytechnic Offa, under the visionary leadership of Engr. Dr. Kadiri Kamoru Oluwatoyin, FNSE, and the Kwara State Government are set to pool resources and expertise together to convert the Polytechnic’s dormant arable land into an integrated farm estate, through strategic partnerships poised to
unlock new opportunities for a thriving agro-industrial ecosystem.

The above initiative was revealed when the Rector, Engr. Dr. Kadiri Kamoru, represented by the Deputy Rector Administration, Dr. Salimonu Rasheed Ishaq, led a delegation from the Polytechnic on a working visit to the Kwara State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Thursday, May 23, 2024.

Speaking at a meeting held recently at the Ministry’s conference room, Dr. Salimonu appreciated Governor AbduRahman AbdulRazaq for spearheading numerous initiatives aimed at revitalizing the Agricultural sector. He expressed the Polytechnic’s readiness to partner with the state government to utilize the massive uncultivated land within the Polytechnic, saying the initial pilot phase of the integrated farm project is on course as it targets putting close to 500,000 of the Polytechnic’s hectares of land into agricultural production. According to Salimonu, “We have lands that are not put into use which demands urgent intervention from development partners. We are therefore appealing to the state government through the Ministry of Agriculture to assist us with production equipment which includes tractors, harrows, excavators, planters, bulldozers, among other necessary tools for land clearing and cultivation.” He also said the relationship is “graciously timely,” pointing out that the National Agricultural Land Development Agency (NALDA) has also promised to supply the Polytechnic with all the necessary raw materials, including seedlings, maize shellers and agrochemicals for the production process.

Assuring that Dr. Kadiri is committed to ensuring food security, Dr. Salimonu said: “Agriculture is one of the Rector’s heartbeat projects, and even as we speak, “the Rector and the Registrar are presently in Abuja,” which according to him, the main objective behind their traveling is agribusiness development and provision of raw materials for potato cultivation and processing; stating that, “we are already making an hybrid of bread from sweet potato that does not need any sweetener, adding that the management is working assiduously to making sure that what Offa is known for which is sweet potato is further projected to the world. We are also looking at other varieties, starting with maize, guinea corn and vegetables as major crops; and we look forward to possible enlargement of that partnership in the future.”

On his part, the Director Planning, Finance and Supply, Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Mayaki Babadzuko Ma’adu, who represented the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs. Oloruntoyosi Thomas, applauded the Rector for conceiving the bold initiative, promising that the Ministry would provide technical support, asset items, training and inputs to support the Rector’s vision where Agriculture reigns supreme. He assured of the state government’s continued support towards achieving food sufficiency, adding that these initiatives must yield the best results”.

To push the agreement into real action, Mr. Mayaki stated that the Ministry will deploy expertise to the Polytechnic through its Desk Officers in the Agric Services Department for on-site inspection of the Polytechnic’s arable lands. According to Mayaki, “In order to plan better, I want a team from our Ministry to visit the site. We have to map out the entire agricultural areas, look at the viability of the products, conduct land testing to determine the soil fertility, pending the signing of an MoU formalizing the partnership. He also proposed a habitat design through oil palm farming to decorate the entire areas along the Polytechnic boundaries, saying the design and layout will give the farmland agrarian look and beautify the Polytechnic’s landscape.”

Other staff of the Ministry who spoke on the initiative, enumerated the numerous opportunities in the agrarian initiatives, and emphasized the need for the State to key into the establishment of the integrated farm estate.

The Rector’s delegation to the Ministry include: representative of the Registrar, Barrister E.K. Babatunde; SSA to the Rector, Mrs. Justina F. Egbele; Acting Director, Physical Planning, Abdullahi Giwa; Dean, School of Natural Resources Engineering, Engr. Dr. Adeyinka C.O; Head of Department, Agricultural and Bio-Environmental; Engr. Makun Babatade A.; Head of Department, Agricultural Technology, Mr. Aremu A.L.; and staff from the Public Relations Unit.

Others include staff of the Agric Ministry, among whom are: the State Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs. Oloruntoyosi Thomas; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs. Funke Sokoya; Director, Agric Services, Mrs. Hussein H.B; Director, Agric Engineering Services, Engr. Olorin S.A; Head, Department of Horticulture, Aliyu Abubakar; Head, Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Idris Mohammed; and other staff of the Ministry.