Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun yesterday, commissioned Fanmilk Danone Model Dairy Farm in Odeda Local government area of Ogun State.
Speaking at the event, Abiodun said that he would continue to be a good marker for Ogun state, particularly on agricultural development, as the state was known to be blessed with natural resources.
Abiodun disclosed that agriculture remained one of his core 5 pillar values and an essential point in the acronym of (ISEYA).
He recalled that, for the past three years, his administration had focused more and taken the lead on agriculture because Ogun state is 16,000 square kilometers of landmass and 80% of it was arable.
Abiodun explained that agriculture is the fastest route to food security and job creation. He added that there was a nexus between employment, unemployment and insecurity; therefore, his administration had devoted more time to agriculture.
Govenor Abiodun maintained that the success of the dairy farm in the state was part of his administration's commitment because the MOU for the project was signed on January 20th, 2021.
His words"the growth of the project was symbolic of our demonstration commitment to public-private partnership, which was seen as the enabler for the successful implementation of our building our future together agenda. We are very proud to say that we are working our talk.
"This centre is in collaboration with our ministry of agriculture and our commodity association and we embark on weekly train of our youths .
"As I speak, about a thousand young people have been trained on how to sustainably be involved in increasing supply chain of the milk , the seeds and grasses and all other commodities been used daily in this milk processing facility ."
Abiodun said he was very happy to see milk collection complimenting other ongoing projects on various commodities in the state, such as cassava, maize, cocoa, acqual culture, poultry, etc. The state has been leading for the past three years, while appreciating the CBN for buying into his vision.
"I'm personally delighted that milk collection and house grower scheme investment majorly complement other ongoing projects in various commodities like cassava, maize, cocoa acqual culture, rice, poultry, etc. In this area, we have laid grand producer to industrial opportunities".
In his remarks, the commissioner for agriculture Dr Adeola Odedina noted that the dairy farm in the state is not just farming but also a training center as it has provided opportunities for 1,000 youth to dairy farm.
He assured that the dairy farm program would yield more success to the agriculture development of the state.
Meanwhile, the company’s Managing Director, Mr Ferdinand Mouko, noted that their objective is to ensure that they partner with local dairy farmers in the Odeda community in Ogun State to accelerate the development and expansion of the local dairy market and also creating the social and economic impact of improving the livelihood of the ecosystem.
Present at the commisioning were:
Yep Ziobeiton, MD FMWA Ghana, French Ambassadrice Madam Emmanuelle Blatmann, Ferdinand Mouko, MD Fanmilk plc, Paolo Tafuri, SVP sustainability Danone, Ogun commissioner for Agric, Dr. Adeola Odedina, Mr. Phillip Yila Yusuf, Director Developmental finance, Mohammed Adaya Salisu Senior special adviser to the President Development Policy. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, represented by Olusegun Ariyo, and his excellency Prince Dapo Abiodun, Ogun state Governor.
