Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has revoked the N7billion Moniya-Iseyin road contract awarded during the administration of Senator Abiola Ajimobi.
Makinde disclosed this while speaking at the launch of a $5 million Agribusiness Project initiative by Farmcrowdy adding that the previous government awarded the contract to an engineering firm that do not have capacity to handle the project.
According to a statement released by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, the governor said that the contract was revoked to enable him address the challenges of moving farm produce around the state.
The Governor added that the state government would go ahead to re-award the contract, noting that when completed, the road would redress the challenges of moving farm produce from Oke Ogun area to Ibadan, the state capital.
The Governor who maintained that Oyo was ready for agribusiness promised to expand the state’s economy through agribusiness as well as ready to turn farm settlements around.
The Governor, who pointed out that the state government was fully committed to revolutionising agriculture, indicated that his administration had begun the steps towards using agriculture to revamp and expand the economy of the state by identifying and recruiting one of the best names in agribusiness in Africa, Dr Debo Akande, who was appointed as Executive Adviser on Agribusiness.
He added that in line with his commitment on agriculture, the state government had a retreat on agribusiness in Cotonou, Benin Republic, pointing out that his government would execute the report of the retreat to the letter.
Speaking earlier, Dr Akande stated that agribusiness would take the centre stage of the current administration, adding that the state would explore the Public Private Development Partnership model to achieve its aim on agriculture.
He maintained that bringing Farmcrowdy to Oyo State was a thing of pride to the Makinde government, saying “One thing that is very sure is that if you follow the trend of what has been happening in the agriculture sector, when farmers engage themselves in production and they cannot sell, they will get discouraged. What we are trying to do is that we want to ensure that when farmers produce, there is market for them. Market determines production. We will ensure that those who want to buy get value”.
In his speech, the Managing Director of Farmcrowdy, Kenneth Obiajulu, said that through crowd-funding, Farmcrowdy had been able to impact 25,000 farmers and worked in 14 states out of 36, noting that it was launching the initiative as a partnership on agriculture to help Oyo State.
The Deputy Director-General of IITA Partnership for Development, Mr Kenton Dashiell, while speaking, noted that IITA was ready to be a partner with Farmcrowdy in increasing agribusiness in Oyo State.