- Dr. Ganiyu Adebowale Adedeji, Head, Osun – CARES results area 2 Delivery Platform
The Osun State CARES Results Area 2 (RA2), being implemented through Fadama Platform has significantly advanced agricultural development and food security in the State under the supervision of the Osun State CARES Coordinating Unit (SCCU) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
From inception to date, the Delivery Platform carried out numerous successful projects that directly helped thousands of farmers and rural communities throughout the state.
According to the Head of the Delivery Platform, Dr Ganiyu Adebowale Adediji who stated that the programme focused on a multifaceted approach to enhance agricultural productivity, improve rural infrastructure, and support food processing and preservation.
This informed the distribution of agricultural inputs in the state. Osun CARES RA2 has provided agricultural inputs and services to 8,060 farmers in the state, out of which 3,972 were females and 4,088 were males. The various inputs distributed consist of improved seed varieties, fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, day-old chicks (broilers), juvenile-size fish, feeds, drugs and vaccines to increase the yield alongside ensuring food security in the state.
The Delivery Platform has also made efforts to enhance market accessibility and minimize post-harvest losses by rehabilitating 90.3 km of rural roads across the state, these roads provide an important link in transporting agricultural produce from rural hinterlands to markets. This particular project has had a direct positive impact on 19,400 people, such as farmers, traders, and local communities, by enhancing road connectivity, hence reduction in transportation challenges and post-harvest losses.
In addition to boosting the agricultural value chain, the Ministry through Osun CARES RA2 provided agricultural assets for the production, processing and preservation of farm produce to 8,750 beneficiaries throughout the state. Those resources consist of knapsack and motorized sprayers, water pumps, pepper grinders, storage freezers, smoking kiln, popcorn machines, fish tanks, palm oil digesters with engines, palm kernel cracker with separators and engines, cassava graters with engines and other farm assets to improve the economic strength of farmers, prolong the storage time of agricultural produce and support food security.
In addition to the above supports, beneficiaries were also provided with training in modern farming practices to effective and efficient use of the agricultural inputs and assets.
“The Osun CARES RA2 has made a tangible impact on monumental challenges in agriculture across the state. The Delivery Platform has improved the life of so many farmers and helped to grow both themselves and economic activities in their areas.”
In the same optimism, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Economic Planning, Budget and Development who doubled as the State Project Coordinator of Osun CARES, Mrs Yetunde Esan added that the ministry will not only continue to build on its achievements of recent years but plans further work among farmers and rural communities in the coming days. The Honourable Commissioner of Agriculture, Otunba Tola Faseru said the success of Osun CARES should serve as a model for other states regarding how to harness agriculture-led economic recovery and growth.
The Chairman of the State Steering Committee, the Honourable Commissioner of Economic Planning, Budget and Development, Prof. Moruf Ademola Adeleke said more projects are likely to follow as the Osun CARES Programme is being further implemented, which will support and improve agricultural production, development of rural infrastructure and increase food security in the state, he concluded.
