Committed to sustaining food-sufficiency and ensuring food security, the Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture says it will consolidate on its efforts at promoting selected key value chains including rice, Cassava, poultry and fish with improved support to farms and firms from World Bank Interventions next year.

The Commissioner in charge of the Ministry, Dr. Adeola Odedina, disclosed this while taking turn to defend the 2023 budget proposal of the Ministry before the members of the State House of Assembly Committee on Finance and Appropriation led by Hon. Kunle Sobukanla at the Assembly Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta. 

According to the Commissioner, the Ministry would continue to ensure that farmers have access to subsidized loans and grants; ensuring value chain completion by linking farmers to off-takers, hence, the Ministry plans to spend a total of N3.336bn for the next fiscal year.

Odedina represented by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Dotun Sorunke, explained that the ministry would ensure holistic agricultural land development, infrastructure development, input support, improved extension service delivery, capacity building and inclusiveness through sustained women and youth employment initiatives. 

Giving a breakdown of the Ministry's estimates, the Commissioner stated that N1.976bn was set aside for capital projects, while the remaining N1.36b would go for salary and overhead expenses, with N1.196bn expected as revenue for the year.

In a related development, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Ganiyu Hamzat presented the budget proposal of the Ministry for next year before the lawmakers with an assurance that the Ministry would improve on all its activities by eliciting effective collaboration of the chieftaincy institution and the 20 Local Government Councils towards ensuring peaceful governance in the State. 

Hamzat therefore proposed budget size of N238.7m comprising of N64.2m for capital projects, N174.5m for recurrent expenditure for the next fiscal year.

Other agencies that defended their budget proposals before the State lawmakers are the State Ministries of Rural Development, Special Duties and State Water Corporation as well as  Agric Development  Corporation amongst others.