Check - Farmers open corporate market in Lagos, seek govt’s assistance

TO create an opportunity for farmers from different parts of Lagos and the South-West to get ready market for their produce, Corporate Farmer’s Market opened on Saturday in Gbagada, New Garage Field, Lagos. Corporate Farmers’ Market is one in which farmers bring their fresh produce to sell directly to consumers. The corporate farmers’ market, which is an initiative of a plant and agriculture farmer, Rev. Toyin Jaiyeola, who has also been into vegetables and grains farming for years, as well as into extension services for farmers, holds monthly.

Speaking at the event, Lagos State Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Yakub Olajide Basorun, represented by the Director of Fisheries in the ministry, Mrs. Tokunbo Emokpae, said: “The aim of this programme is to make Lagos State food secure through the implementation of initiatives that will drive the development of the agriculture sector.

“This initiative, along with several other programmes and projects of the government, has provided the needed stimulus to increased food production, job creation and sustenance of livelihoods in rural areas through a shift from subsistence farming to commercialization”.

While also speaking at the First Corporate Farmers’ Market, Jaiyeola, who has a passion for creating opportunities for farmers to sell their produce, said she saw that health has become a major issue in the society as many people fall ill and die due to their poor diet, hence the need for consumption of healthier and more sustainable food that is organically and locally-grown, as it ensures that food retains its freshness.

The farmers at the event, solicited government’s assistance in planting and marketing their produce in the region and granting of soft loans.

Bashorun said that in a bid to upscale local food production towards attainment of 25 per cent total food self-sufficiency by November 2018, the state government commenced the implementation of the Agricultural Estate Initiatives under the Strategic Programme for Accelerated Agricultural Growth (SPAAG).

A participant at the event, Chef Reze, Uche Asugha, said the move is a great initiative that has been set up to take agriculture in Nigeria to a greater level, adding that it’s a superb idea and has come at a good time in the country, as he believes that many Nigerians are going through several health issues and most of the causes come from what they eat. Most of our food crops are grown with chemicals, and this has side effects on the public.