Abiodun Empowers 10,000 Farmers with Tractors, Phones, Inputs

Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun has rolled out a major support package for 10,000 rice and cassava farmers, distributing 10 tractors, 1,200 Android phones and heavily subsidised farm inputs to raise productivity and strengthen food security.

The announcement came on Friday during the 2026 World Food Day celebration at the June 12 Cultural Centre in Abeokuta under the theme “Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow.”

Under the scheme, 2,000 rice farmers will each receive two bags of fertiliser, one bag of urea and three litres of herbicide. The 8,000 cassava farmers will get the same quantities of fertiliser and urea, plus 25 bundles of improved cassava stems and 10 litres of herbicide each.

Beneficiaries will pay 30 per cent of the cost of the inputs while the state government, in partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), covers the remaining 70 per cent.

The 1,200 Android phones, pre-loaded with apps that deliver weather forecasts, market prices and best agronomic practices, are intended to give farmers real-time information for better decision-making and stronger links to markets.

The 10 tractors and accompanying equipment — including ploughs, planters, harvesters, rice planters, transplanters, threshers and trailers — will be shared among the state’s eight farm settlements (one tractor each) and farmers’ associations (two additional units).

Abiodun said the interventions form part of a broader drive to turn agriculture into a profitable, technology-driven sector that creates jobs, attracts investment and boosts Ogun’s contribution to national food security. He noted that the Ogun State Agricultural Land Management Agency (OSALMA) was established to ease access to land and promote responsible, inclusive agricultural investment.

The governor disclosed that his administration has completed 28 agricultural projects in the past two years spanning crop production, aquaculture and poultry. These include solar dryers, warehouses, cassava processing centres and a poultry processing plant at Ajegunle Farm Settlement in Odeda Local Government Area with capacity to process 5,000 birds daily (about 1.3 million birds annually). The state has also procured 39 tractors and four self-propelled harvesters to expand mechanisation and cut the cost and drudgery of manual farming.

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On youth engagement, more than 200 young people have been trained in soilless farming through a partnership with Soilless Farm Lab and given start-up support to launch their own enterprises. Abiodun said the goal is to expand local processing, retain more value within the state economy and generate employment across the value chain.

He highlighted the Ogun State Farmer Information Management System, launched in April 2023, which has registered over 160,000 farmers and value-chain actors. The platform supports evidence-based policymaking and ensures interventions reach intended beneficiaries. Under the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP), agribusiness firms have purchased more than 283,000 tonnes of produce from organised farmer clusters, while capacity-building and market linkages have helped turn higher output into steady incomes. OGSTEP has also directly supported 33,075 farmers and facilitated mechanisation on 9,014 hectares at a 65 per cent subsidy.

Abiodun commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for efforts to boost local fertiliser production and improve farmers’ access to inputs, and acknowledged the contributions of the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to programmes supporting women farmers. He reaffirmed that the state would continue to complement federal initiatives through targeted support, responsible investment and stronger market connections.

Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security Bolu Owotomo described World Food Day as a reminder that access to nutritious, affordable food is fundamental to human dignity. He said more than 12,000 farmers have already benefited from training and inputs under OGSTEP, and stressed the need for greater investment in women and young people through improved access to land, finance, training and technology.

In his keynote address, Professor Kolawole Adebayo, a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, said Ogun’s 1.2 million hectares of arable land and proximity to major consumer markets place the state in a strategic position within Nigeria’s food system. He called for an integrated transport network linking rail, road, water and air to reduce post-harvest losses and urged sustained commitment to agro-industrial processing zones and modern farming practices.

Representatives of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones Programme and the Commodity Farmers Association of Nigeria commended the interventions and urged beneficiaries to make full use of the equipment and inputs. Farm settlers, speaking through Rotimi Sogunle, thanked the governor for supporting farming communities and described OGSTEP as a significant boost to the sector.

The highlight of the event was the symbolic presentation of tractors, agricultural equipment, Android phones, fertilisers, herbicides and other inputs to beneficiaries.