The Ondo Cassava Revolution

As Ondo State government looks beyond the Sunshine State being a civil service state to one that can be reckoned with as industrial through agricultural intervention it tagged Cassava Revolution ( CASSAREV), some men have keyed into the agenda.

It is on this rare row of men that Chief Alexander Oluremi Ajipe belongs. Ajipe is CEO, Klick Konnect Network, the agency whose tools have been at the forefront of the government ‘s efforts in this regard. The brilliant mind has been delivering, and reeling out the templates towards attaining, to the fullest, the Ondo industrial drive.

Klickonnect Networks is putting smiles on the faces of the people through this great initiative, and its CEO, Ajipe, is putting in place creative templates for attaining a working and lasting industrial drive.

Recounting the state of affairs before the Oluwarotimi Akeredolu government took over the mantle of leadership in the state, Ajipe said no government has shown commitment towards Ondo State industrial development after the era of the late Pa. Adekunle Ajasin. According to him, the Cassava Revolution, which is a value chain program, is designed to explore the many advantages of cassava.

He observed that most of the things Ondo was known for, like the Oluwa Glass Industry, the Ceramic Industry, the Tomatoes Industry, have gone moribund due to the insensitive nature of successive governments.

On the cassava to Ethanol Factory, which is another first of its kind in the state, Ajipe said the factory will consume 350-400 tonnes of cassava and provide direct employment for 500 people. Other initiatives on ground include the Ondo Linyi Industrial Hub Phase 1 and Ondo Linyi Phase 2 projects which will bring about a truck assembly plant to Ondo and ACAVAT, a training institution which will train people on technology.

Ondo has set the pace in it’s industrial drive by being the first to establish a textile mill factory, a paper mill factory that produces paper pulp; while it is also the first to sign a city-by-city agreement with China . The administration has also remained the first to allocate 10,000 hectares of land to Wewood as part of a renewed agenda for agricultural development.

With these strides, the administration is proving that good governance is possible in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Arakunrin is showing the world that Ondo is a safe place for investment. When the person at the helm of affairs is one of unquestionable character, it becomes easy for people from different parts of the world to come and invest in his domain.

Interestingly, Ajipe, trained at FUTA and is a revenue consultant to Ondo State Ministry of Natural Resources, is a project manager with great pedigree. Hence, the prospects of this initiative are visible.

At full implementation, Cassarev is expected to see to the establishment of an ethanol factory and contribute to human capital development in Ondo as farmers while truck loaders among others will benefi.

Farmers are expected to supply not less than 400 tonnes of cassava daily to keep the factory in operation. Klickconnect is also encouraging Ondo people, especially youths, to get involved in cassava farming by registering them and facilitating no interest loan.