LASG Flags Off Maiden Eko City Farm Market ,Assures Food Security For Over 22 Million Residents

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has asserted that the State is committed to optimally harness its comparative and competitive advantage in agriculture in order to grow the State GDP, support the establishment and growth of small scale industries in all the value chains as well as provide employments for the youths and women.

The Sanwo Olu led government also assured food security for over 22 million residents in state

Sanwo-Olu who spoke in Lagos on Sunday at the launch of the maiden edition of the Eko-City Farmers’ Market noted that agriculture remains one of the main sectors through which his administration plans to achieve the objective of making Lagos a 21st Century Economy adding that the main goal in this regard is to ensure food security for the over 22 million people resident in our State.

Represented by his Deputy, Dr. Kadiri Hamzat, the Governor pointed out that the Eko-City Farmers’ Markets was in fulfillment of his campaign promises to farmers in the State and further assured them that the State Government would not relent in implementing more programmes that will be of great benefit to them in particular and the agricultural sector in general.

In his words, “agriculture remains one of the main sectors through which we plan to achieve our objective to make Lagos a 21st Century Economy. The main goal in this regard is to ensure food security for the over 22 million people resident in our State. Also we are committed …to optimally harnessing our comparative and competitive advantage in Agriculture to grow our GDP, support the establishment and growth of small scale industries in the value chain as well as provide employment for our teeming youths and women.”

He described the Eko-City farmers’ Market as an exceptional initiative aimed at providing a conducive, safe and well structured environment where Farmers can trade their farm produce directly to consumers at farm gate prices.

The Governor explained that the Eko-City Farmers’ Market initiative was designed as a monthly market to be hosted on the last Sunday of every month in order to consistently create an inclusive platform that would cater to the diverse needs of people in different social strata …as well as ensure food safety and traceability that meets with international market standards.

He stressed that the State Government has begun to effectively tap into the large opportunities and potentials in the agricultural sector, especially as it plans to ensure food security for residents and increase its self sufficiency in food production from 18% to 40% by 2025.

“To effectively tap into the large opportunities and potentials in the agricultural sector, there is a need for food safety and traceability that meets with international market standard. Through this initiative, we will ensure that our Agricultural Produce Markets are managed in conformity with best global standards and practices and also provide a platform for our farmers both within the State and from the entire South-Western region to display their products and to also curtail huge post-harvest losses being experienced presently,” Sanwo-Olu opined.

The Governor noted that the Agricultural Produce Market is quite strategic and full of opportunities where over a billion Naira worth of transactions take place on a daily basis across the value chains in Lagos stressing that through the Eko- City Farmers’ Market initiative the State Government would ensure that all Agricultural Produce Markets are managed in conformity with best global standards and practices while providing a platform for farmers within the State and from the entire South-Western region to display their products.

“The State Government has launched several intervention programmes through the Ministry of Agriculture to improve Agricultural Produce Markets across the State. Some of these programmes include Produce Vehicle and Crate Project for the perishable produce, Eko Meat Van for the Red Meat Value Chain, the three-pronged strategy also under the Red Meat Value Chain identified with the acronym ATM-Abottoir, Transportation and Market, the annual World Food Day and Sea Food Festivals, to mention but a few,” Sanwo-Olu averred.

He averred that the State Government would not relent in its efforts to restructure the agricultural sector as there is a need to uphold Smart-Agriculture driven by innovative technologies by benchmarking on international standards for produce markets befitting of Lagos State.

He therefore urged Lagosions to embrace the Eko City Farmers’ Market initiative as theirs and take due advantage of the opportunity offered to obtain fresh, clean, safe and affordable food produce in a weII-structured, secure, clean and beautiful environment.

Earlier, the State Commissioner for Agriculture, Prince Gbolahan Lawal explained that studies have shown that farmers in the State lack direct access to the markets of their produce such that more often than not they sell their produce to middlemen at rather ridiculous farm gate prices while those farmers that are able to penetrate the market find it difficult to break even as they are forced to sell at the association dictated prices.
He pointed out that the dynamics of the Nigerian Agric Produce Market is largely structured in a way that the ubiquitous middlemen determine prices across the value chains thereby turning the agricultural producers to price takers instead of price fixers.

According to him, it is these challenges that have restricted many of the farmers to subsistence production and indirectly affected the food economy of Lagos state and the entire region hence the birth of the Eko-City Farmers’ Market in the State.