Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Prince Gbolahan Lawal and the Director, Songhai Regional Centre, Father Godfrey Nzamujo on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Songhai Projects in Lagos State.

This is A four-year integrated Agricultural development programme to be undertaken by the Lagos State Government and Songhai Regional Centre, Porto Novo, Benin Republic to develop, equip and create job opportunities for farmers in the agricultural sector in the state.

The Commissioner, Prince Lawal said farmers in Lagos need training in how best to grow and market modern agricultural crops and to provide a good foundation for the project, he said the state has allocated 300 hectares of land in Abia, Badagry, which will be used as a demonstrative regional centre of Songhai in Lagos.

Lawal said the entrepreneurial thinking associated with the Songhai project will help farmers to explore many of the state‘s under-developed and under-sold agricultural sector products.

According to him, the Songhai project meet the aspiration of the agricultural development agenda of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) as it is about reducing bio waste and using renewable resources to generate power and using modern technologies to drive agricultural development.

He explained that it is A- four- year development programme to equip farmers in Lagos to generate electricity from waste to run their farming operations is in the offing. The programme will include a state survey of economic trees which are capable of producing power and a campaign to encourage farmers to plant trees with such potential.

He however disclosed that the target audience is unemployed youths who need all the encouragement to take up agriculture as a career. The project groundwork consist training farmers in a wide range of technologies to boost the production of vegetables, rice and livestock.

Speaking with newsmen after the ceremony, Nzamujo said the centre has developed a lot of renewable resources which could be used to generate electricity in the farm.

He said the aim of the project is to train farmers to improve efficiencies in the use of available resources as well as better and more profitable access to markets. He said the project would improve the quality of life and the economic prospect of unemployed youths, adding that beneficiaries would have become self-employed after acquiring skills in fruit and vegetable processing, packaging, food safety and quality control.

Nzamujo said the centre ‘s approach is climate-smart agriculture which would rekindle interest in the agricultural sector as a viable business option, a valid career choice for Small farmers, and a rewarding option for the vast number of undergraduates leaving university but unable to find jobs in other sectors.

He said the centre is promoting a responsible farming system which supports transfer of new technologies and access to markets. According to him, the project will encourage farmers to become fully self sufficient in energy, using sustainable resources. Using the Shongai model, it will encourage simple energy infrastructure model for the farms built largely around biomass production and utilization.

This will require building simple bio-gas production system fueled by a combination of waste streams. The trend, he explained, is towards sustainable and renewable energy and that jobs would be created that will boost the local economy.

According to him, the programme will provide employment opportunities, engaging an increasing number of households in a variety of sustainable activities that generate auxiliary incomes, and will drive the development of the communities as well as contribute to the overall economic recovery of the state.

Bisi Olufuwa/Elias Oladipo

MA&C


http://www.lagosagric.org/index.php/component/content/article/15-lagos-partners-songhai-to-develop-agriculture


Fashola is working
Eko o ni baje

Nice move it seems.

Standing5: Nice move it seems.

A really nice move me thinks. Its high time we start developing our agricultural sector

These ACN governors want to drive aboki out of business ni ?

felifeli: These ACN governors want to drive aboki out of business ni ?

That's not the aim. It's just that we can't keep putting our lives at risk for the fear of food poisoning.
Over 70% of our local produce(agriculture) are from the North.
We've realized the future risk this might lead to, that's why we have to make this move

We know the rate at which the price of food increases on any slight crises in the North. Don't you think it's insane if we keep on dulling ourselves but letting this people handle what human can't live without?!

Mind you, it's the wrong way we took civilization that made us forget our heritage(agriculture).

Paul John:

That's not the aim. It's just that we can't keep putting our lives at risk for the fear of food poisoning.
Over 70% of our local produce(agriculture) are from the North.
We've realized the future risk this might lead to, that's why we have to make this move

We know the rate at which the price of food increases on any slight crises in the North. Don't you think it's insane if we keep on dulling ourselves but letting this people handle what human can't live without?!

Mind you, it's the wrong way we took civilization that made us forget our heritage(agriculture).

I feel you my brother. The way forward for SW is agriculture anyway. It was agriculture that built our massive, and yet unrivaled infrastructure before oil doom came. Kudos my people.

felifeli:

I feel you my brother. The way forward for SW is agriculture anyway. It was agriculture that built our massive, and yet unrivaled infrastructure before oil doom came. Kudos my people.

True.

MICHAEL
what about the students,what do you have for them,now that am kicked out of school after my third year,what plane do you have for student like me,i cant stat with out doing anything..... lam an agricultural student from FUNAAB in OGUN STATE... for more information please my email is mawoniran@yahoo.com or call 0816 717 7733 please your help is of great value to me and my life.God bless you.

modern agricultural crops

What's that?

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Lagos is a big encouragement to other states. What a fantastic initiative from an innovative governor and his team!

Good News...Good Move...Long overdue.... SW governors should key into this programme...by Nigerian doing wonders in Port Novo...

It's high time we start practicing agriculture in Nigeria, infact i will recomend all state especialy north to dedicate majority of their resources to agriculture and education for the next 10years. Instead of being the largest inporter of agric produce in Africa, we can be a well known exporter.

this move is laudable. i hope fashola will look at the weaknesses in the implementation in rivers state and correct them in lagos. eko o ni baje

kim77: Good News...Good Move...Long overdue.... SW governors should key into this programme...by Nigerian doing wonders in Port Novo...

It not good news, this was begging both State and Federal Govt then for a piece of land to start the Shongahi farm in Nigeria, every move he made then was turn down.He approched Rep. of Benin, they granted him all he requested for and he set up the project at Port Novo.Who is loosing?

Nice move;hope it is indeed sustained and replicated.Farming in that region is highly commendable;what I noticed when passing through Benin were functional irrigation facilities and I was like wow!The choice of Badagry due to proximity(I think)makes the project very feasible.I hope they back this up with awareness and involve the right kind of people.

This is a good initiative!
Just like it is in Rivers State

This is truely a way forward but I hope we can stick to it and not derail because every advance country have a strong Farming culture and it's the key to life.

We have truely derailed from the right way of civilization, hopefully we can get back on track and start feeding ourselves rather than relying on others while we have the best resources.

Eko ni baje

Carry go Baba Fash.

Songhai Center Port-Novo owned by Rev Father Godfrey Nzamujo and Government of Benin Republic has trained up to eight states unemployed youths across the country. These states include Osun, Ogun, Rivers , Delta, Ebonyi, Imo, Enugu and Adamawa State.Lagos would have been the first due to the proximity of the state to port-novo, Benin Republic but the previous government refuse to provide a replica land where Songhai center will be establish after the training. Thank Goodness that the government of Governor fashiola has followed suit. All the state mentioned above has replica of Songhai Farm in their states being managed by the graduates of Songhai Center Port-novo including his home state IMO STATE. Though he (Nzamujo) is not an agriculturist but has interest in Agriculture. He has two professorship award from different profession but none from agriculture yet he is making sway in modern Agri-Business. Though some of these replica farms in Nigeria has been hijacked and ruined by politician and their cohorts which has lead to abysmal growth. But the good thing is that the knowledge acquired from the training will be a stepping stone for anyone that wish to be his/her own boss in agricultural business. Long live Father Godfrey Nzamujo, Long Live government of Republic of Benin. To God be the glory.

1. I have been postponing my enrolment at Songhai institute for about 4year now do to other projects on my hand and I pray my December 2013 target will be a reality.
2. Honestly, we all need to key into the Agric-business drive/wave, As that is where the juice will come
3. The good brother that said Fashola had no business investing in agri-business and leave it to private sector in other thread; I tot I told you that Lagos is a top proponent of PPP

@ Oga Supereagle,
1. It's a crying shame o, but not too late.
2. We can replicate Songhai farms in our locality as well and probably grow the model to be bigger than what's in operation in Port Novo. My Boss told me off an excursion to one the biggest of such farms in the US, He thought the size of the farm is almost that of VI

supereagle:
It not good news, this was begging both State and Federal Govt then for a piece of land to start the Shongahi farm in Nigeria, every move he made then was turn down.He approched Rep. of Benin, they granted him all he requested for and he set up the project at Port Novo.Who is loosing?