Organic Fertilizers and other support for Osun Vegetable Farmers

The Osun State Quick Impact Intervention Programme (QIIP) for farmers (QIIP) has arranged trial-run for Gbodofon Cooperative vegetable farmers to benefit from the use of organic fertilizer to enhance their productivity.

To this end, five acres of land will be used to kick-start this programme – There is a tripartite agreement between the supplier of the fertilizer, Groderiv-Africa Services, the cooperative vegetable farmers and Osun QIIP to manage and monitor this programme.

Osun State Agricultural Development Programme (OSADEP) will support the arrangement with extension services from treatment at the seed level to harvest of the vegetable produce on the demonstration farm.

The Technical Director of Goderiv-Africa Services, Mr Bolaji Adeniran, marketer of AgroteckUSA, a protective organic liquid fertilizer, said his company has been following the pace, breadth and depth of the QIIP programme with considerable enthusiasm from inception and his company is confident that this programme will boost agricultural productivity in the state on a sustainable basis and therefore, his company has decided to demonstrate its interest and support for the programme through this measure.

He further said that apart from his company providing the fertilizer and knapsack sprayers free of charge, they would also indemnify the cooperative farmers against any loss, economic or otherwise, that may arise from the usage of their product. He asserts that he has every confidence that the organic fertilizer will boost the yield and quality of the vegetable produce. His company will also provide extension services to monitor and co-supervise the demonstration farms operations. Finally, he praised Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s administration for the active agricultural revolutionary strides that his government has embarked on.

Evangelist Popoola Olayinka, the president of the beneficiary Cooperative group, expressed his gratitude to God, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and the QIIP coordination team for the wonderful blessing his cooperative has derived this year. In an emotion-laden voice, he said it was only last year that his group got N1million loan from a credit union in Osogbo, and from which his group barely came alive after paying about six hundred thousand naira interest on the said loan. Further, he said to the glory of God, his group is enjoying a N2.5 million loan support for which they are paying only N120,000 interest in a whole year and on top of this, they are getting irrigation support and this demonstration farm enhancement.

The QIIP coordinator, Mr Dele Ogundipe, said that the programme remains focused and has already addressed two value-adding chains – planting and extension services for cooperative farmers, whilst the remaining two value-adding chains of processing and market linkages for farmers will be addressed before this year harvesting is completed. He believes that the agricultural programme will be more robust and inclusive in the coming year.

http://www.osundefender.org/?p=21098

Welldone to Aregbe. Lets hope Osun truly becomes a major source of food supplies very soon. At least it will reduce the poverty level of the people and improve the economy of the state.